Why doctors need to know about evolution

For us, there is one reason that stands out above the others as to why doctors need to have a working knowledge of evolution. We feel that a very big problem in the medical field today is bacterial resistence to drugs. If a doctor does not know about evolution, he or she could easily prescribe antibiotics to every patient that shows symptoms of a bacterial infection. Presumably, these doctors would prescribe the same drug repeatedly to every patient they encounter. The reason that this is a problem is that bacteria can build resistence to drugs that are over prescribed. As we learned in evolution class, the antibiotics will put a pressure on the bacteria. Only the bacteria that, by random chance, have the ability to withstand the antibiotic, will survive and reproduce. The selection for these resistant bacteria will allow them to thrive while the bacteria which are not resistant will fall victim to the drugs. As all of the non-resistant bacteria are eliminated, only the resistant ones will remain, leading to a completely resistant strain of bacteria.

A perfect example of this kind of selection leading to resistant bacteria is with Staphylococcus aureus. The over-prescription and misuse of the antibiotic Vancomycin has led to a resistant strain of S. aureus. If doctors have a working knowledge of evolution, they will understand that the selective pressure on bacteria from antibiotics will lead to such a situation. With this knowledge, they will hopefully restrain the use of antibiotics to the cases that absolutely need them, or at least use a variety of antibiotics. It is also important that doctors know about evolution like this so they can better inform their patients about the importance of following the regimen for antibiotic use. If a patient stops using the prescribed drug too soon, only the strongest bacteria will be left and able to multiply. Because of Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and other drug-resistant bacteria, we feel that doctors must understand both the mechanisms and effects of evolution.