In medical schools (especially in Chile) the prevailing scientific paradigm is linear and reductionist. By teaching complexity sciences this paradigm is broken giving new perspectives to the confrontation of problems that affect our patients. Is it necessary to think about the need to teach this new discipline to future doctors?
Teaching a variety of applied sciences to medical students is crucial and helps meet the complex rising various demands of patients and enhances students problems solving skills and learning outcomes.
The curriculum of a Medicine and Complexity course must be multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary given the richness of resources and perspectives that this novel science has that must (already is a must) instill in our medical school students
The current aims of medical curricula are to prepare graduates to join the medical force and to be competent and able to serve the patients and community using professional approaches. We focus on patient education and prevention of diseases, and we ensure that graduates understand research, use evidence in making decisions and are safe. I do not think complicated things is a priority.
Thanks Samy Azer for the reply. But complicated is not equal to complex. More now, facing the challenges of the coronavirus epidemic, it is imperative to teach the disciplines of complexity science to medical students. I share the following link that reinforces what I propose:
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3051137/climate-change-coronavirus-complex-adaptive-systems-thinking-key
full disclosure: I have worked for half a century on complexity sciences so I warn of possible bias. However, I strongly think it should be included because there have proven to be, for a wide range of diseases, multiple causes and multiple effects. This suggests the diseased state (or relatively dtysfunctioning states) of our complex body systems cannot be understood ONLY by linear causes and effects. Thus, the medical student would learn something important about the humans they are caring for. Further, the phenomenon of pleiotropy, long known in genetics, must be widened in the medical sciences beyond the typical example of sickle cell anemia to alzheimers and the progeria's and joined by the new pleioetiology.
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