The Virtuous Physician:

This coming program is entitled "The Virtuous Physician." There will be a moderated panel discussion with audience participation. Our panel for this program will be:

Dr. Milton Conley, a general and vascular surgeon practicing in this area. He was trained at Loma Linda Univ. and Univ. of Texas.

Mr. Robert Bednarek,a long experienced hospital administrator, presently the administrator at Transylvania Comunity Hospital in Brevard, NC.

Gordon Wilson, Ph.D., present Chairman of the Dept. of Philosophy at UNCA, Asheville.

Dr. Albert M. Iosue, diagnostic radiologist and president and founder of the Institute For Applied Philosophy. He was trained at Case Western Reserve Univ. and Yale Univ.

Don Emon, Ph.D., will act as moderator for the evening. Don is a retired nuclear engineer formerly with the Atomic Energy Commission and an experienced moderator.

The program will consist of brief presentations by each of the panel members, followedby moderated discussion and open discussion with the audience.

Our discussion will center on those qualities which are essential in comprising virtue in a physician.

What is virtue? Are there virtues unique to the practice of medicine? How does the practice of medicine differ from the practice of other professions? What are the virtues necessary for the practice of medicine? Is the virtuous physician always the ideal physician? While most people, when ill, would probably opt for a 'virtuous physician', how would one recognize or discover one? Are all doctors the same? How can one find or choose a good physician?

No doubt people attending this meeting will have many experiences and hence, opinions, weak and strong, about whcih elements of character and personality they would like their own private physicians to have. We plan to assess the opinions of the attendees to find what qualities they feel are important in a physician, and which comprise a virtuous physician.

Through television, we have all been exposed to the stereotypical ideas of'good'doctors presented in Marcus Welby, MD, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, and others. No doubt some of these personalities were demonstrations of the attitudes and opinions of Americans. Furthermore, many of those attitudes were found in physicians who practiced during the first half of the twentieth century prior to and during WWII. They were trained and steeped in 'traditional private medicine' which had a long history, being, well almost, the oldest profession in the world.

But things have changed! The huge growth in population, the new concept of insurance, the explosion in technology and the insinuation of government into medicine have wrought fundamental changes in the attitudes and expectations of physicians and patients as well. In short, the whole game has changed. How do these significant changes alter the virtues necessary to practice?

This ought to be an informative and interesting evening.