Two queries that linger in the medical profession for a long. I am afraid they aren’t addressed specifically by the stakeholders.
Question 1
Foe a moment, let us assume there is no option to answer all three are equally important. Medical colleges are supposedly Godly places where high-quality noble professionals would germinate, let into the community thereupon, to heal the ill and suffering. The teaching faculty has a huge responsibility. They must ensure that students are transformed into responsible caregivers in the first place. They should be made to understand that the knowledge they acquire has a short half-life and medical education is all about continuous learning and unlearning. Unless teaching and research are morally genuine and scientifically perfect, the things we do in the name of patient care is going to be redundant. Hope you got the answer right!
Question 2
Now that, we got the answer to the question 1, here is a more difficult question.
Out of the four, only one addresses the skill and expertise. The rest of the three generally happen away from the bedside. The answer is strikingly clear I guess.
Postamble
I agree the answers to these queries can be extremely sensitive, and contentious for many of us. Little deeper lies the truth. Hope, the quote from the much-stigmatized father of modern medicine “Primum non-nocere” will help find the answer.
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 