ABSTRACT
This chapter describes briefly how our medical school, Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio, is trying to address broader issues concerning health in its current efforts at curriculum change. It begins by broadly defining profession and professionalism. The chapter explores the effect of commercialism, or profit-driven medicine. It focuses on the influence of academic–industry relationships (AIRs) on medical practice and research. The chapter examines the question of how money influences medicine and the dilemma that is AIR. It also focuses the possibility of limiting harmful practices while expanding and supporting mutually beneficial opportunities for industry and medicine to make money through initiatives that support environmental and personal health. The chapter discusses how businesses promote health or damage it. It introduces examples of the effects of business on the environment; industries discussed will include mining and agribusiness. The chapter considers pollution and efforts to promote environmental health. It presents a broad summary of science's attitudes towards nature.
