The Hippocratic Oath:
In the world, medicine is becoming more and more diverse. Information is being shared via computers and international broadcasts. There are different religions, cultures, values, and beliefs to consider. Likewise, there are also different thoughts on healing other than the ancient Greek concept of healing by the "Father of Western Medicine" -- Hippocrates. What about eastern, psychological, divine, natural and other types of healing? Modern science recently confirmed concepts of Eastern Medicine like acupuncture to be valid, and the many great advances in modern surgery, are these not to be considered. As commendable as this oath may be it was sworn in the presence (witnessed) of Greek gods and godesses that are refuted by most religions of the world. Can The Hippocratic Oath apply to todays modern world? Should this oath be the foundation for a more conclusive, multi-healing oath that can be used by the international community at large?
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The classic Hippocratic Oath seemingly forbids euthanasia, abortion, and even surgery--certainly, it is outdated. To me, however, the Oath does not promote a specific "mode of healing" or rule out others, hence your worry that the Oath fails to take into account other modes of healing (eastern medicine, for instance) seems groundless.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, due to concerns that the Oath is superannuated, many medical schools today have adopted a modern variation of the Oath in lieu of the classical one. One of the widely used variation is the Louis Lasagna version we can be found here: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_modern.html