I wrote previously about the “Knowledge Gap,” and how research has shown that kids can only become proficient readers when they come to have sufficient background knowledge about the world, knowledge that allows them to fill in the gaps writers assume most readers know already. Without that gap-filling ability, kids can’t comprehend much of what they read.
Paul, Scarily, this is also a big problem in medical schools. Admission requirements have been massively lowered. It used to be the ability to handle the academics [as measured by previous work] and the necessary motivation to endure the rigors of caring for people -- now is Social Justice Warrior score, Demographic score, and "distance traveled" score. No one has any idea what these are which is convenient for deliberately non-colorblind admissions. And the admissions committee no longer even gets to see academic records -- "they have been approved if they get to the committee"...yeah...right.
Because many of the matriculants are now academically unqualified, grades have had to be eliminated (in all schools, everywhere) because otherwise the shape of the failing group (which is quite large these days using prior standards) becomes quickly obvious. Pass/Fail is so easy, since each time one sets the pass/fail point to make sure only a tiny percentage fail, irrespective of the absolute scoring.
The natural follow on, of course, is that national testing (the National Boards) have also moved to pass/fail -- it is just a propagation of inadequacy right down the line. Once you start with a significant number of students who have never had to learn much before medical school (and may not be capable of ever learning much) the slide just continues.
Of course, there are some marvelous students, too. But no one will ever know who they are. Residencies, which used to be another shot to select for the most capable students, now have to guess in almost every case. We have retreated to pictures (interviews) and crossed fingers. Really an advance, I guess...
The problem is these people all get licensed and then go out and kill patients. I know no academic of my cohort who will see any physician under 45 or 50 for just these reasons (unless we have trained them and know they are not in the bottom-feeding category).
These are far more immediate effects than long-term diminution of science research. These facts have impact in how medicine is practiced (the retreat to cookbook "hospitalist" is the most obvious example, but there are many others). And they likely contribute to the ever rising "excess deaths" numbers we are seeing. These are big, big deals. And they start early as you always point out.
Dr. K, thanks so much for sharing your experience in the medical field! Very, very important, and particularly concerning. In the future, I plan on doing an essay series on the trends that discourage innovation in a variety of fields, including medicine, and your personal observations dovetail precisely with the information I'm gathering. Many thanks for all you do!
Paul, Scarily, this is also a big problem in medical schools. Admission requirements have been massively lowered. It used to be the ability to handle the academics [as measured by previous work] and the necessary motivation to endure the rigors of caring for people -- now is Social Justice Warrior score, Demographic score, and "distance traveled" score. No one has any idea what these are which is convenient for deliberately non-colorblind admissions. And the admissions committee no longer even gets to see academic records -- "they have been approved if they get to the committee"...yeah...right.
Because many of the matriculants are now academically unqualified, grades have had to be eliminated (in all schools, everywhere) because otherwise the shape of the failing group (which is quite large these days using prior standards) becomes quickly obvious. Pass/Fail is so easy, since each time one sets the pass/fail point to make sure only a tiny percentage fail, irrespective of the absolute scoring.
The natural follow on, of course, is that national testing (the National Boards) have also moved to pass/fail -- it is just a propagation of inadequacy right down the line. Once you start with a significant number of students who have never had to learn much before medical school (and may not be capable of ever learning much) the slide just continues.
Of course, there are some marvelous students, too. But no one will ever know who they are. Residencies, which used to be another shot to select for the most capable students, now have to guess in almost every case. We have retreated to pictures (interviews) and crossed fingers. Really an advance, I guess...
The problem is these people all get licensed and then go out and kill patients. I know no academic of my cohort who will see any physician under 45 or 50 for just these reasons (unless we have trained them and know they are not in the bottom-feeding category).
These are far more immediate effects than long-term diminution of science research. These facts have impact in how medicine is practiced (the retreat to cookbook "hospitalist" is the most obvious example, but there are many others). And they likely contribute to the ever rising "excess deaths" numbers we are seeing. These are big, big deals. And they start early as you always point out.
Thanks for doing this.
Dr. K, thanks so much for sharing your experience in the medical field! Very, very important, and particularly concerning. In the future, I plan on doing an essay series on the trends that discourage innovation in a variety of fields, including medicine, and your personal observations dovetail precisely with the information I'm gathering. Many thanks for all you do!