‘Rich and compassionate’ doctors are what we want
WE all owe a debt of gratitude to Emeritus Prof Nicholas Glasgow, of the Australian National University, for exposing those Otago Medical School electives.
Thanks to Prof Glasgow, this great country of ours is once again safe from the perils of doctors who might otherwise have approached patients with a world perspective, an appreciation of foreign cultures, or even a sense of worklife balance.
I personally look forward to the restoration forthwith of the robotic, onedimensional bedside manner in clinics and hospitals throughout this great land.
If nothing else, this will give the New Zealand public something to complain about, which as we all know is the primary purpose of having doctors in the first place.
People used to think that goofing off on medical elective was as vital to future doctors as halfnaked jelly wrestling at Otago Law School camp was to our future QCs and heads of state. We now know that this is not the case.
But to quote from the last page of the Oxford Handbook of Clinical Specialties: ‘‘. . . we urge our readers to turn away from learning by rote: let us read novels, cultivate our friends, travel far and wide — and try to keep forever curious, for then, if we are lucky, we stand to gain that priceless therapeutic asset: a rich and compassionate personality . . .’’ Bruce McKinnon
Queenstown
Lovely memory
I AM writing to express my appreciation for the Within Living Memory photos you print each Saturday, which are always fascinating, and must often stir many memories for local folk.
Last Saturday’s (ODT, 5.6.21) photo was a particular blast from the past for my three sisters and I, as it depicted our late father, Jack Sculpher, just as we remember him, surrounded by antiques.
He owned an antique shop in North East Valley for many years, one of many small businesses along ‘‘the valley’’ in the 1970s, and was a fantastic dad. To top it off, June 5 is my birthday, so thank you ODT for making it extra special for me this year. Janine Thompson (nee Sculpher)
The Catlins
History
CHARLES Higham (Letter, 9.6.21) sets the scene for wonderful new insights into Maori history. Using archaeological discoveries will unravel the hidden history of the early inhabitants of New Zealand.
I’m waiting excitedly for the myths and stories to be rolled out as fact.
Where the early people had no written language, we can fill in the gaps with supposition and journalistic licence.
The vocabulary of the early people will no doubt be swept away in glorious excitement as we reposition the early inhabitants as scientists and stargazers the equal of the Greece and Egypt and Babylonia.
Recently, the discovery that Maori explored the Antarctic thousands of years ago is another wonderful revelation. Those waka were so versatile — it must have been chilly, though, on those long voyages through the ice flows.
Wonderful adventures. The next episodes are awaited eagerly. Chris Menzies
Maryhill