Medicine: Towards a Qualitative Human and Technological Paradigm

Pandemic through, a question that has already risen sharply, became crucial today: How are health workers trained in the face of the profound social, technological and cultural changes we are experiencing?

In an area like Medical Sciences, where continuous training is essential, digital transformation should no longer be delayed. Online education will no doubt remain installed in the post-COVID-19 future and must continue to evolve.

The benefits they offer are enormous: geographic boundaries blur and every space becomes a potential classroom; a large amount of available content is free or easily accessible, and can be learned according to the times and rhythms of each student.

Recent research has shown that in our profession It is necessary to move to a permanent employment of co-education, in a sufficient balance between face-to-face and virtual dynamicsas a significant improvement in academic performance was observed when students studied with a blended learning style compared to a traditional teaching method.

As with the advancement of telemedicine, the new training paradigm presents us with great challenges and challenges. For teachers: learn, adapt and develop new pedagogical forms that guarantee the transfer of scientific knowledge. For students: develop the habit of discipline to give continuity to a more autonomous and decentralized way of studying.

The early integration of the computer tools used to practice virtual medicine is a point that cannot be ignored today. The digital revolution is evolving towards a model in which analysis techniques known as ‘big data’ will become commonplace, as well as the use of the patient’s digital medical record, artificial intelligence algorithms, 3D printing and biosensors.

Thanks to the available technology, we will have a very high level of information about each patient as never before, a fact that in addition to driving the advancement of precision medicine, with more invites everyone to take into account the ethical dimension and a topic that has often been underestimated: the communication skills of health professionals.

Innovation and digitization should all play a leading role today, but without forgetting the importance of non-technical knowledge – empathy, control, emotional control. this will help us, with better tools, to channel the doctor-patient relationship in light of the new scenario that presents itself.

Yes it is time to include so-called “soft skills” in the study plans. Doctors don’t work alone. We work as a team, we lead interdisciplinary groups, we are confronted with good and bad diagnoses on a daily basis. And from an ethical criterion, we must not only practice medicine properly, but also communicate professionally and understand the social changes that are taking place.

Extensive training is needed to connect us with patients who come to consultations today – face-to-face or remotely – with medical information they previously searched for on the Internet or with health and wellness applications that they access daily on their mobile phone. Technology undoubtedly changes this bond that always requires trust, professional secrecy, mutual respect and the independence of doctors’ opinion.

In the advancement of technology, both in training and in practice, the role played by government policy is no less. Governments face major challenges to ensure digital inclusion and connectivity for all segments of the population. The digital revolution in health must be within everyone’s reach.

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