Ministry of Medicine

To the Editor: In his Shattuck Lecture, Dr. Rogers (N Engl J Med 288:1377, 1973) traces some of the current dissatisfaction with medical care to the supposition that “family structure, sense of community and the supportive function of the church have lost their strength.”” This may well be a correct assessment, but it would appear unrealistically naïve to assume that “health professionals,” through “empathy, counseling and understanding” can ameliorate the existing social deficiencies. It would seem that actions designed to eliminate dissatisfaction with medical care that stem from such causes are more concerned with an unpleasant symptom than with the ….