The word cure means more than just healing a disease or condition. It carries meanings that are deeper, like freedom from fear or living without the burden of a chronic illness. It can also mean the hope for a future free from a diagnosis that threatens quality of life or a lifetime of treatment and follow-up.
In a clinical setting, a “cure” is a patient’s hope for an effective treatment that will permanently reverse the effects of the disease and reduce or eliminate symptoms. Whether it is an inflammatory disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, a neurological disorder, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson disease, a metabolic disease, such as diabetes or heart disease, or cancer, patients can be healed.
This article explores how the word cure is understood and used in clinical practice and the impact of that understanding on clinicians’ professional responsibilities and on patients’ outcomes. The authors use a mixed method approach of qualitative and quantitative analysis, including focus groups, individual interviews and a survey of oncologists.
Science labs that include a course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE) component show significant student learning gains and improved scientific identity and self-efficacy compared to students in traditional laboratory courses (1,2). However, CURE courses require extensive technical preparations before class, including building experimental plans that tolerate changes, selecting relevant literature, and obtaining starting resources for students. These preparations can take one to several hours of faculty time and interfere with the limited class time available for experimentation. This chapter examines ways to increase the utility of these interactions from both a student and faculty perspective.