Persuading the Medical Community In the always changing world of medicine, the delicate interactions and relationships between doctor and the patient are usually overlooked. In “Leech, Leech, Et Cetera”, Lewis Thomas kindly explains how patient care has developed in the past 50 years, using pathos and ethos examples. By referencing how definitions of medical words have been altered according to new discoveries, Thomas also clearly demonstrates that the medical profession is also transforming in so many ways. Doctors are slowly losing their ability to have personal relationships with their patients’ due to modern technology. As machines are replacing human hands, doctors are realizing they do not need a so called “relationship” with the patient
…show more content…
The people he intends to reach out to are doctors and patients, although his credibility of the information is well established by his intelligent tone. Thomas’ use of mental persuasion may not be the most unique according to the English world, but the logic behind his thinking and the intended use of pathos in his article should grab the audience’s attention. Explaining “leech the doctor…[carries] the implication of knowledge and wisdom,” Thomas accurately states how the medical profession was once viewed (53). Doctors were people of intelligence and highly trusted among the crowd, they were looked up to and admired, “Medicine was once the most respected of all the professions” (54). Thomas then hits us with the other side of the word, as in when leech referring to the definition of a worm. Words like “blood” and “tax collectors” are associated with the definition (53). Giving the term a negative meaning, Thomas attempts convinces the intended audience, including people who have been treated poorly by someone in the medical community, that this profession is going downhill on a personal level. In regards to pointing this out, the author wants to persuade physicians and medical students to restore the practice medicine to how it used to …show more content…
Within this, he shows us how the profession has taken a negative turn. His does an impressive job trying to convince the audience on how to modify their actions through emotional and logical appeals, but after one crucial and incorrect statement, his entire motive can be debunked and questioned. So why would medical professionals change their actions when the number of patients being healed is increasing? Although the medical world is changing, it may not necessarily be for the worse in all aspects. The doctor to patient relationship may be gone on some levels, but some patients may not even want a solid relationship from the get go. Patients, like doctors, are concerned with a cure, and if a friendly relationship is there as well, then it makes it all the more better in the
The people he intends to reach out to are doctors and patients, although his credibility of the information is well established by his intelligent tone. Thomas’ use of mental persuasion may not be the most unique according to the English world, but the logic behind his thinking and the intended use of pathos in his article should grab the audience’s attention. Explaining “leech the doctor…[carries] the implication of knowledge and wisdom,” Thomas accurately states how the medical profession was once viewed (53). Doctors were people of intelligence and highly trusted among the crowd, they were looked up to and admired, “Medicine was once the most respected of all the professions” (54). Thomas then hits us with the other side of the word, as in when leech referring to the definition of a worm. Words like “blood” and “tax collectors” are associated with the definition (53). Giving the term a negative meaning, Thomas attempts convinces the intended audience, including people who have been treated poorly by someone in the medical community, that this profession is going downhill on a personal level. In regards to pointing this out, the author wants to persuade physicians and medical students to restore the practice medicine to how it used to …show more content…
Within this, he shows us how the profession has taken a negative turn. His does an impressive job trying to convince the audience on how to modify their actions through emotional and logical appeals, but after one crucial and incorrect statement, his entire motive can be debunked and questioned. So why would medical professionals change their actions when the number of patients being healed is increasing? Although the medical world is changing, it may not necessarily be for the worse in all aspects. The doctor to patient relationship may be gone on some levels, but some patients may not even want a solid relationship from the get go. Patients, like doctors, are concerned with a cure, and if a friendly relationship is there as well, then it makes it all the more better in the