GoodWork in Medicine

In our study of medicine, we have sought to understand the challenges facing medicine
today and the ways in which high achieving physicians have coped while maintaining their
commitment to doing good work. We explored the ways in which doctors conceive of and
engage in their work amid the tectonic shifts taking place with respect to the economics of
health care and emerging technologies.

This project consisted of three phases:

In phase one (1999-2000), we interviewed 20 well-established physicians in
academic medical centers, including clinical and research professors, exploring their
views on broad trends affecting their domain. Among the tracks examined were
emerging technologies, the increasing commodification of medicine, and changes
in doctor-patient relationships.
In phase two (2003), we examined medical education and, more specifically, the
ways in which behaviors and attitudes grouped under the rubric “professionalism”
were transmitted to young medical professionals in training. Thirty-five faculty
members and physicians from five outstanding medical schools participated in this
phase of the study.
In the third and largest phase of the medicine study (2005 - 2006), we
conducted interviews with approximately 50 internists, OB/GYN’s, and cardiothoracic
surgeons from Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont, who were nominated by
their peers for their commitment to doing good work. We explored these specialties
because they are embattled in distinct ways due to range of factors, including financial
pressures from insurers, malpractice threats, technological advances, and the changing
demographics of medical school graduates.