Medicine

This merit badge was retired on November  15, 2021, and has been replaced with the Health Care Professions merit badge.

Scouts that started working on the Medicine merit badge before January 1, 2022, may continue working on it,
but Scouts may no longer begin working on the Medicine merit badge.

The current Medicine merit badge patch (shown above) will also be used as the Health Care Professions merit badge patch.

1. Discuss with your counselor the influence that EIGHT of the following people or events had on the history of health care:
   1. Hippocrates
   2. William Harvey
   3. Antoine van Leeuwenhoek
   4. Edward Jenner
   5. Florence Nightingale
   6. Louis Pasteur
   7. Gregor Mendel
   8. Joseph Lister
   9. Robert Koch
   10. Daniel Hale Williams
   11. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
   12. Marie and Pierre Curie
   13. Walter Reed
   14. Karl Landsteiner
   15. Alexander Fleming
   16. Charles Richard Drew
   17. Helen Taussig
   18. Jonas Salk
2. Explain the Hippocratic Oath to your counselor, and compare to the original version to a more modern one. Discuss to whom those subscribing to the original version of the oath owe the greatest allegiance.
3. Discuss the health-care provider-patient relationship with your counselor, and the importance of such a relationship in the delivery of quality care to the patient. Describe the role of confidentiality in this relationship.
4. Do the following:
   1. Describe the roles the following people play in the delivery of health care.
      1. Allopathic physician (M.D.)and Osteopathic physician (D.O.
      2. Chiropractor (D.C.)
      3. Emergency medical technician
      4. Licensed practical/vocational nurse
      5. Medical assistant
      6. Medical laboratory technologist
      7. Nurse-midwife
      8. Nurse practitioner
      9. Occupational therapist
      10. Optometrist
      11. Pharmacist
      12. Physical therapist
      13. Physician's assistant
      14. Podiatrist
      15. Psychologist
      16. Radiologic technologist
      17. Registered Nurse
      18. Respiratory therapist
   2. Describe the educational and licensing requirements to practice health care in your state for FIVE of the professions in requirement 4a. (Not all professions may exist in your state.).
5.  
   1. Tell what is meant by the term "primary care" with regard to a medical specialty.
   2. Briefly describe the types of work done by physicians in the following specialties:
      1. Internal medicine*
      2. Family practice*
      3. Obstetrics/gynecology*
      4. Pediatrics*
      5. Psychiatry
      6. Surgery
   3. Describe the additional educational requirements for these specialties.
6.  
   1. Briefly describe the types of work performed by physicians in FIVE of the following specialties or subspecialties:
      1. Allergy/immunology
      2. Anesthesiology
      3. Cardiology
      4. Colorectal surgery
      5. Critical care medicine (intensive care medicine)
      6. Dermatology
      7. Emergency Medicine
      8. Endocrinology
      9. Gastroenterology
      10. Geriatric medicine
      11. Hematology/oncology
      12. Hospitalist
      13. Infectious disease
      14. Nephrology
      15. Neuro surgery
      16. Neurology
      17. Nuclear medicine
      18. Ophthalmology
      19. Orthopedic surgery
      20. Otolaryngology/head and neck surgery
      21. Pathology
      22. Physical medicine and rehabilitation
      23. Plastic, reconstructive, and maxillofacial surgery.
      24. Preventive medicine
      25. Pulmonology
      26. Radiology
      27. Rheumatology
      28. Thoracic/cardiothoracic surgery
      29. Urology
      30. Vascular surgery
   2. Describe the additional educational requirements for the five specialties or subspecialties you chose in 6a.
7.  
   1. Visit a physician's office,** preferably one who delivers "primary care." (This may be that of your counselor.) Discuss the components of a medical history and physical examination (an official BSA health form may be used to guide this discussion), and become familiar with the instruments used.
   2. Describe the characteristics of a good diagnostic test to screen for disease (e.g. routine blood pressure measurement). Explain briefly why diagnostic tests are not perfect.
   3. Show how to take a blood pressure reading and a pulse reading.
8. Do the following:
   1. Discuss the roles medical societies, employers, the insurance industry, and the government play in influencing the practice of medicine in the United States.
   2. Briefly tell how your state monitors the quality of health care within its borders, and how it provides care to those who do not have health insurance.
9. Compare and discuss with your counselor at least two types of health care delivery systems used throughout the world.
10. Serve as a volunteer at a health-related event or facility in your community (e.g. blood drive, "health fair", blood pressure screening, etc.) approved by your counselor.

* "Primary care" specialties

** If this cannot be arranged, demonstrate to your counselor that you understand the components of a medical history and physical, and discuss the instruments involved.

BSA Advancement ID#: 130
Requirements last updated in: 2018
Pamphlet Stock Number: 35917
Pamphlet SKU Number: 641579
Pamphlet Revision Date: 2012

Blanks in this worksheets table appear when we do not have a worksheet for the badge that includes these requirements.