Faust

I was dumbfounded to hear the plan of setting up a medical school with no clinical professor and medical student, "Alas, it really sounds like those shell companies (空殼公司) we see in the stock market. What actually does this shell - or sham (should there be an "e" to follow?) - medical school do?"

"Big things. Their steering committee tries to focus their effort on fruitful things, and they plan to recruit top niche scientists and do cutting edge research. In short, the aim is to make this new medical school one of the top rank few in Asia. You know, teaching of medical student - and their quality after graduation - has nothing to do with this ranking business or the fame of a medical school, which all boils down to grants, donations, publications, and patents."

"That may be true," I was forced to nod, "But I must admit I am outdated and continue to believe the soul of a medical school is to train new doctors. Funding and scientific advances are worldly achievement for which the importance should come next. If a medical school sells the soul of teaching in exchange for a better ranking, their faculty must be haunted by Faust!"