Medical Humanities Program, Department of Philosophy, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798, USA.
J Eval Clin Pract. 2011 Oct;17(5):877-82. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01719.x. Epub 2011 Aug 11.
Virtues are an important component in the practice of clinical medicine. Prudence or wisdom and charity or love are often viewed as crucial for virtuous practice. Generally, the two virtues are discussed separately, with no connection between them; however, a synergy exists between the two virtues as a compound virtue of prudent love in which the properties of the compound virtue transcend those of the individual virtues.
To examine the nature of prudent love and to discuss its role in the practice of clinical medicine.
Philosophical and conceptual analyses.
Prudent love exhibits properties, which are the result of a synergistic interaction between the two individual virtues. Succinctly, prudent love synergism is an outcome of a particular structural relationship between the two virtues in which motivational love prompts the prudent clinician to acquire and utilize clinical competence, which then allows the loving clinician to take care of an individual patient's health care needs. In turn, the virtuous clinician's ability to meet those needs successfully feedbacks onto the motivation to satisfy them initially, thereby encouraging and enhancing the clinician to fulfil them even more prudently and lovingly, not only for the individual patient but also for other patients.
The compound virtue of prudent love provides a comprehensive approach to practising medicine that meets not only the needs of patients but also fulfils the physician's sense as healer. Although challenges face teaching virtues in the medical curriculum, strategies are available for incorporating training in virtues into the curriculum.
美德是临床医学实践的重要组成部分。谨慎或智慧和慈善或爱通常被视为美德实践的关键。一般来说，这两种美德是分开讨论的，它们之间没有联系；然而，这两种美德之间存在协同作用，是谨慎之爱的复合美德，其复合美德的属性超越了个体美德的属性。
探讨谨慎之爱的本质，并讨论其在临床医学实践中的作用。
哲学和概念分析。
谨慎之爱表现出的属性是两种个体美德协同作用的结果。简而言之，谨慎之爱的协同作用是两种美德之间特殊结构关系的结果，其中激励性的爱促使谨慎的临床医生获得和利用临床能力，然后使有爱心的临床医生能够照顾到个体患者的医疗需求。反过来，有道德的临床医生成功满足这些需求的能力会反馈到最初满足这些需求的动机上，从而鼓励和增强临床医生更谨慎、更有爱心地满足这些需求，不仅是为了个体患者，也是为了其他患者。
谨慎之爱的复合美德为行医提供了一种全面的方法，不仅满足了患者的需求，也满足了医生作为治疗者的感觉。尽管在医学课程中教授美德面临挑战，但有策略可以将美德培训纳入课程。
