MEDICINE - A HEALING OR A DYING ART

That medicine is a science is the popular belief, and this has been re inforced by the advent of 'evidence-based medicine', which assumes tha t scientific proof is required to support medical practice. However, t he view of science implied is a narrow one, foreign both to pure scien tists and to artists, and the art. of medicine is devalued by the appr oach. There are both important differences and important similarities between science and the arts. The arts should contribute to evidence-b ased practice and education along with science, and have a role in man y aspects of medical practice.