Healing Hands: A Bicontinental Study of Medicine

Abstract

A student’s journey to becoming a physician is long and arduous. The process exists to properly train and educate physicians, ensuring their competence before entering the complex world of patient care and healthcare policy. This thesis uncovers the structural differences between medical systems in the United States and France, emphasizing the underlying cultural reasons for such variation. The information presented indicates distinct cultural differences, such as the French emphasis on apprenticeship and hands-on training from the outset of medical studies. However, in other instances, there is a considerable amount of overlap, such as in each country’s historical unwillingness to adopt a national healthcare system. While a perfect solution to each system’s complications and downsides may prove elusive, much can be learned from this comparison of two vastly different approaches to healthcare.