Inside The Minds

Art, Science, and Obsession

The science of medicine refers to an immense and ever-growing

fund of knowledge that describes the normal and abnormal
function of the human body. However, medicine is not a pure
science, such as physics or mathematics, because no two patients
are alike in how they experience (feel the symptoms of) or
manifest (show the signs of) an illness. I like to view the
individual patient as the canvas and the interacting elements of
his or her physical and mental wellness and pathology as the
pigments of paint on that canvas. The art of medicine is evident
when the individual doctor uses his or her personal experience,
intuition, skill, and knowledge to diagnose and improve the
physical and mental health of that individual patient.

A medical student must first take basic science courses (such as

anatomy, histology, embryology, physiology, and molecular
biology) to establish the groundwork for more advanced clinical
courses. The rigor of medical studies also trains the student of
medicine to think in a logical, deliberate, and systematic manner.
The student must have a solid understanding of the mechanisms
of wellness and disease before he or she can memorize and use
long lists of signs, symptoms, and differential diagnoses. The
clinician’s responsibility is to further master the science or
building blocks of medicine (e.g., cardiology, hematology,
dermatology, allergy and immunology, rheumatology, infectious
diseases, pulmonary medicine, gastrointestinal disease,
oncology, psychiatry, nephrology, neurology, endocrinology) to
diagnose and treat the patient correctly. The art of medicine lies
in knowing how to retrieve and integrate a seemingly infinite

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