Journal of Student Research 2018

The Importance of a Liberal Arts Education The Importance of a Liberal Arts Education

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Sylvia Lechnir (Second Place) Senior, Applied Science Concentration: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Most people have the same expectation when they go into a medical facility to receive care and treatment. They want to be seen and recognized as an individual and not as another item to be fixed and discharged, which is unfortunately the case in too many experiences. It is my hope that one day everyone can receive individualized and supportive care within the medical field, but it is up to the quality and type of education that is provided for and delivered to people to bring about this change. One effective method to ensuring that medical professionals are receiving the proper education for their careers is to incorporate liberal arts courses into the program. There are several ways that my liberal arts education at UW-Stout is effectively preparing me to change the world in a beneficial and positive way as a health care employee. Through participation in a General Ethics course, I was able to develop critical thinking and evaluation skills that will prove to be useful in my future medical career and allow me to have a positive impact on others. Many theoretical situations involving debatable courses of action were presented to me, and I was to carefully determine how to ethically approach the situation based on knowledge of traditional ethics. For example, I discussed ways of addressing circumstances in which a husband stole an expensive medication that he could not afford in hopes of saving his wife dying of an illness. Using current ethical views, I made points for and against the husband making the correct decision. The man made an incorrect decision to break the law and steal from the drug company, but his intent to cure his dying wife made part of his decision ethically correct in the eyes of many people. This prompt and several others required me to analyze all variables and possible outcomes, which is a valued skill in the medical field. Physicians must know how to think on the spot and make countless ethical decisions on a regular basis; it is necessary to understand common ethical views and apply them to making the best decisions. This will allow me to positively impact people and improve their quality of life. In the future, I will likely find myself in a situation in which I must determine the best path for someone with terminal cancer. My background of general ethics with enable