Final Research Paper – The Value of a Doctor In recent years, increasing emphasis has been placed on meeting the demands of a growing population. As far as the American healthcare system is concerned, the nature of medicine is shifting from treating the individual to managing many patients, with the result that doctors are influenced to focus more on treating the disease than on healing the patient. To follow the expectations of the progressively mechanized medical system, these doctors are increasingly forced to limit their time with each patient to maximize efficiency. The increasing compartmentalization of the doctor's time has changed the occupational structure of the field and consequently has depersonalized patient care, compromised the original ideals of wanting to become a doctor, and diminished the value of the doctor's work. The fact that medicine is becoming increasingly specialized is clear. In his book Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science, surgeon Atul Gawande reflects on this change: “Twenty-five years ago, general surgeons performed hysterectomies, removed lung tumors, and bypassed hardened arteries in the legs. Today, every pathology has its own specialist, who repeatedly performs a limited series of procedures” (Gawande, 38 years old). One study showed that an increasing percentage of primary care physicians reported referring more patients to specialists: in 2001, 25.5% of primary care physicians reported having referred more patients to specialists in the past two years, compared to 17.8% in 1997. This increase in specialty care reflects the general trend toward greater efficiency in the healthcare system. Narrowing the scope of interest when diagnosing or performing a procedure allows you to spec...... half of the article ......The New England journal of medicine 359 (2008): 2748-2751. April 7, 2009 .Collier, Virginia U., Jack D. McCue, Allan Markus, and Lawrence Smith. “Stress in medical practices: status quo after a decade of reform?” Annals of Internal Medicine 5th ser. 136 (2002): 384. Perspective. March 5, 2002. American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine. April 24, 2009 .Mukherjee, Siddhartha. “Becoming a Doctor: A Precarious Exchange” The New England journal of medicine 351 (2004): 1822-1824. April 25, 2009 PRWeb. “Physician burnout and stress are reaching critical levels.” Press release. Newswire press release. April 12, 2007. PRWeb. April 25th. 2009 .