The pediatrician
Task 4.
Task 3.
Task 2. Summary Writing
Use the points in Task 1 to write a short summary on the qualities that make a good doctor.
To be a good doctor it is essential to have ______ and the humility ________________. Maturity, ____________________ are also required, as is __________________. Moreover, a doctor really has to care ______________ and be able to _____________. Fundamentally he has to____________________________.
After you have finished your summary, compare it with thefollowing model: To be a good doctor it is essential to have a good memory,willpower, great physical strength and the humility to recognise your own mistakes. Maturity, adaptability and common sense are also required, as is a strong interest in diseases. Moreover, a doctor really has to care about people with disease and be able to use his own emotions as part of the therapy. Fundamentally he has to have a love of life and living things.
In the text the writer mentions eight answers in reply to the question "why do you want to become a doctor?" Using these eight answers carry out a survey in your own class by selecting six of the answers which are the most relevant to you personally. Rank the most important response with six points and the least important with one point. Combine the individual data so that you have a picture of the whole class.
Read through the section headed "What happens at medical school" and then answer the following questions:
1. What were the two points the professor made to the writer?
2. Why should a medical student only learn the important facts of medicine?
3. What is the difference between an illness and a disease?
4. What factors can influence a disease?
5. Does the doctor work alone during his residency?
6. What is much of the work like during a residency?
7. How long does it take to become a surgeon?
8. How many doctors do postgraduate studies?
9. What are some of the dangers for doctors in developed countries?
10. What are the main advantages of a medical career?
Children are always changing: they are growing, learning, gaining confidence and becoming members of society. If a child is ill, this growth and development is affected. A child’s illness is influenced by his genetic background, physical environment, personality, family and culture. Of course, this is also true of adult illness. But the influence of family and society on children’s illness is particularly strong.
Death of children is very rare in developed countries today. In Britain, in 1900, 150 babies in every 1,000 died before the age of one year. In 1960, in developed countries of the world, this rate (the infant mortality rate) was 30 per 1,000. Today in these countries it is less than 10 per 1,000. The mortality rate of children aged 1-15 is only 0.2 per 1,000. A boy born today in a developed country will probably live for seventy-five years, a girl for eighty. The main causes of death in children aged 0-15 years are difficulties during labor (33 percent), congenital defects (20 percent), infections (17 percent), accidents (15 percent), cancer (5percent) and other miscellaneous causes (10 percent).
Serious illness in children is now also rare in developed countries, whereas fifty years ago, many children were permanently handicapped from infectious diseases. Rheumatic fever caused severe heart disease in small children. Poliomyelitis caused paralysis of the arms, legs and even the chest. Tuberculosis made many children too weak to run and play. They sat in bed coughing until they died of bleeding into the lungs. Better hygiene and antibiotics have made these diseases rare in the developed world, although they are still major health problems in developing countries.