When I tell lay audiences that most doctors no longer take the Hippocratic Oath, which clears the way to permit some to engage in (now formerly) unprofessional acts (e.g., sex with patients) and still call themselves ethical, they are stunned and appalled. They know that the Oath was one of their best protections against abuse. Too bad Conis can't understand that simple truth and apparently embraces the ongoing deconstruction of professionalism that is afflicting our society in medicine, science, law, journalism, academia, and other areas of important endeavor.
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Did You Take The Hippocratic Oath?
You may have taken the unadulterated oath when you graduated, but medical school graduates today may opt to "improve" upon the ancient wisdom. According to Second Hand Smoke, today the oath has been watered down to accommodate today's medical "ethics."
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The Hippocratic Oath and what it means to medical practice is not as simple as it may first appear on a literal reading. How long has it been since the teaching mandates of the oath have been followed? Medical school is supposed to be free of charge? These parts of the oath that may seem trivial go to inform what it meant to be a doctor to Hippocrates just as much as not providing deadly poisons. I say this not to support tossing the oath away, but simply to say that people have been picking and choosing what they obey in the oath and what they consider important about it for quite some time.
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