Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Using servant leadership to teach medical students

Robert Centor, MD
Education
November 11, 2010
98 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

I spend much time talking with medical students.  It is part of my job, but more than that I like medical students.

What should be the goal of medical schools?  I believe we have an obligation to help our students grow into great physicians.  What philosophical principles should we use?

Perhaps the answer to success is Servant Leadership.  As I learn more about this concept, I hope that have become a servant leader.  My guess is that often I am, but perhaps I must strive to do this even better.

Here are the basics of servant leadership:

“The servant-leader is servant first … It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?”

For many years I have asked myself every day on rounds and often ask my students – did you get your money’s worth today?  I try to remember that students are paying unreasonably large amounts of money to go to medical school.  Therefore I have a responsibility to the students to give them what they are paying to receive – education.  I must be their servant.  That does not mean that I do not challenge them, because through those challenges I should be able to help them grow.  And that is the point.  I have an obligation to the students.

Is this a common philosophy?  I submit that through servant leadership I get better rewards than through arrogant leadership.

The best analogy is parenthood.  Being a parent should prepare one for this style of leadership.

All attending physicians should treat students in this way.  Many do, unfortunately those who do not have too important a negative impact on students who do not deserve negativity.

We who teach have a great responsibility.  When we take the Hippocratic Oath we say these words:

To consider dear to me, as my parents, him who taught me this art; to live in common with him and, if necessary, to share my goods with him; To look upon his children as my own brothers, to teach them this art.

True teaching occurs best when respect starts as an underlying principle.  Respect is not difficult. It does not hurt.

Robert Centor is an internal medicine physician who blogs at DB’s Medical Rants.

Submit a guest post and be heard.

Prev

Why moral hazard fails in health care

November 11, 2010 Kevin 10
…
Next

AMA: Patients and physicians call on Congress to stop Medicare cut

November 11, 2010 Kevin 12
…

Tagged as: Medical school, Residency

Post navigation

< Previous Post
Why moral hazard fails in health care
Next Post >
AMA: Patients and physicians call on Congress to stop Medicare cut

More by Robert Centor, MD

  • When the problem representation and the illness script do not match

    Robert Centor, MD
  • Think of diagnostic excellence as playing smooth jazz

    Robert Centor, MD
  • When constipation pain was worse than cancer pain

    Robert Centor, MD

More in Education

  • Master the ABIM Certification exam with effective strategies: insider tips for success

    Farzana Hoque, MD
  • The pros and cons of taking a gap year during medical school

    Med School Insiders
  • Breaking the silence: the truth about mental health challenges among medical students and why medical schools must take action

    Erin Waldrop
  • Breaking the stigma: Encouraging mental health help-seeking in medical trainees

    Anonymous
  • I’m not so different from Lionel Messi – and neither are you

    Lauren Tien
  • 6 ways ChatGPT can help you succeed in medical school

    Drew Bergman
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • Is chaos in health care leading us towards socialized medicine? How physician burnout is a catalyst.

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Georgia’s new law promoting truth and transparency in health care credentials

      Carmen Kavali, MD | Policy
    • Revealing America’s expansion: the dark truth of Native American suffering and unjustified abuses

      Anonymous | Physician
    • The rising threat of lung cancer in Asian American female nonsmokers

      Alice S. Y. Lee, MD | Conditions
    • The tragic story of Mr. G: a painful journey towards understanding suicide

      William Lynes, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • The hidden factor in physician burnout: How the climate crisis is contributing to the erosion of well-being

      Elizabeth Cerceo, MD | Physician
    • Proactive risk management: a game-changer in preventing physician burnout

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • AI-driven solutions for burnout, patient empathy, and worker shortage

      Harry Severance, MD | Tech
    • How modern lifestyle changes are disrupting our immune systems

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • Empathy and awareness: Unveiling the hidden dangers of food allergies [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The alarming epidemic of physician burnout and how we can combat it

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Physician
    • A retired physician’s battle with moral injury

      Hayward Zwerling, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling the secrets to effective resuscitation and overcoming obstacles

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 5 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Risankizumab Safe in Older Crohn's Disease Patients
  • How to Better Identify HER2-Low Breast Cancer
  • Daylong N95 Masking Alters Heart Rate, Respiration
  • 9 Deaths in Bacterial Outbreak; Heart Attacks During Lockdown; SCOTUS Saves Medicaid
  • Healthcare Mergers Need More Regulation and Oversight, Senators Told

Meeting Coverage

  • Risankizumab Safe in Older Crohn's Disease Patients
  • How to Better Identify HER2-Low Breast Cancer
  • Higher Fetal Cortisol Levels Linked to Sleep Onset Delays
  • Novel LAA Closure Device 'Promising'
  • TTFields Therapy Yields OS Improvement in Second-Line NSCLC
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • Is chaos in health care leading us towards socialized medicine? How physician burnout is a catalyst.

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
    • Georgia’s new law promoting truth and transparency in health care credentials

      Carmen Kavali, MD | Policy
    • Revealing America’s expansion: the dark truth of Native American suffering and unjustified abuses

      Anonymous | Physician
    • The rising threat of lung cancer in Asian American female nonsmokers

      Alice S. Y. Lee, MD | Conditions
    • The tragic story of Mr. G: a painful journey towards understanding suicide

      William Lynes, MD | Physician
  • Past 6 Months

    • “Is your surgeon really skilled? The hidden threat to public safety in medicine.

      Gene Uzawa Dorio, MD | Physician
    • Breaking the cycle of racism in health care: a call for anti-racist action

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Policy
    • Unveiling the hidden damage: the secretive world of medical boards

      Alan Lindemann, MD | Physician
    • A physician’s typical day, as envisioned by a non-clinician health care MBA: a satire

      Jennifer Lycette, MD | Physician
    • The hidden factor in physician burnout: How the climate crisis is contributing to the erosion of well-being

      Elizabeth Cerceo, MD | Physician
    • Proactive risk management: a game-changer in preventing physician burnout

      Howard Smith, MD | Physician
  • Recent Posts

    • AI-driven solutions for burnout, patient empathy, and worker shortage

      Harry Severance, MD | Tech
    • How modern lifestyle changes are disrupting our immune systems

      Kara Wada, MD | Conditions
    • Empathy and awareness: Unveiling the hidden dangers of food allergies [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The alarming epidemic of physician burnout and how we can combat it

      Tomi Mitchell, MD | Physician
    • A retired physician’s battle with moral injury

      Hayward Zwerling, MD | Physician
    • Unveiling the secrets to effective resuscitation and overcoming obstacles

      Deepak Gupta, MD | Physician

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Using servant leadership to teach medical students
5 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...