Practice, politics, and possibilities
2009; Royal College of General Practitioners; Volume: 59; Issue: 565 Linguagem: Inglês
10.3399/bjgp09x420266
ISSN1478-5242
Autores Tópico(s)Healthcare cost, quality, practices
ResumoIn 1501, at the tender age of 26, a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet called Michelangelo Simoni was asked by a Florentine guild to create a colossal statue portraying a symbol of Florentine freedom. The statue was to be given pride of place in the Piazza della Signoria in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. It is said that the young artist gazed on the massive block of white marble from the Carrara quarries in Tuscany and said quietly ‘I see possibilities’. And what possibilities! Before he had even picked up his tools, and 4 years before the work was completed, an image of one of the greatest sculptures of all time, the Statue of David, was clear in his mind. Our responsibility as members of a respected speciality within an influential profession must be to see ‘possibilities’, to look at what we have now, to imagine a masterpiece and then to sculpt. In this lecture I am going to explore just how close our speciality is to a masterpiece. I am going to describe my view that while we have achieved an enormous amount, there is still much to do. And there are times when it feels like we are not making sufficient progress, or even have a clear vision of what we are trying to achieve. I am going to suggest that in order to make progress we should be less inclined to think within the boundaries of our discipline and more inclined to look outwards. I am going to suggest that we must think not only about our traditional role as doctors helping to care for patients, but about the role of general practice within our local communities and as part of a wider health and social care system. I will attempt to address this ambitious remit by …
Referência(s)