Saunders Doctoring College

Saunders College was named after Charles D. Saunders, MD, who was an outstanding urologist for more than 30 years and former chairman of the St. Luke’s Board of Trustees. “Doctoring” introduces students to the most fundamental elements of patient care. On its face, doctoring seems to be a rudimentary skill which merely involves talking to patients. However, closer inspection reveals that what should appear as a relaxed conversation to the patient is actually an intricate and involved process that requires the physician to ask probing questions, analyze responses for meaningful content and prioritize differential diagnoses all while attempting to put the anxious patient at ease. Doctoring skills are never perfected, but the arts of observation, communication and brevity of documenting essential findings are paramount to any clinician attempting to provide the optimal level of patient care.