Standard of care hits close to home
May 2013—Town versus gown: It’s a long-standing source of tension in medicine. In November 1963, JAMA published a piece on the pathology of this so-called syndrome. The disease was characterized as both chronic and acute, with the author blaming social forces, the structure of medical practice, philosophical differences in medical education, and the rise of specialization, as well as a host of secondary etiologic factors. After much hand wringing, the author called for a renewal of spirit to end this classic divide.