Hippocratic Oath
Initially, the Greeks had little knowledge of medicine. They believed that the Gods caused diseases. To cure patients, doctors chanted verses to the Gods, and used charms and magical ointments. Sometimes they advised a sick person to make sacrifices to the Gods.
In the fifth century BCE, a physician named Hippocrates began a medical school. He and his followers introduced new teachings and practices that changed the entire field of medicine. Hippocrates and his associates argued that it was disrespectful to the Gods to claim they would deliberately cause diseases and harm the human body. Instead, they argued, physicians should examine the effects of water, food, and climate upon a person's health. Furthermore, Hippocrates taught his students to observe and record the stages of an illness. He believed that after repeatedly observing a disease, a doctor could make an accurate prediction about the course that the disease would take.
The most famous contribution the Greeks made to modern medicine is the Hippocratic Oath. Doctors taking this oath promise to honor their teachers, do their best for the sick, never give anyone poison, and keep the secrets of their patients. Hippocrates probably did not write the oath, but students at his school most likely took a similar pledge before they were allowed to study there. The Greeks thought an ethical code for doctors was necessary because the practice of medicine was not regulated by the government--making it easy for dishonest individuals to take advantage of the sick. Over time, the medical profession has changed the original Hippocratic Oath to fit the modern practice of medicine. Nevertheless, the oath doctors take today still emphasizes patients' dignity and confidentiality, and the doctor's responsibility to use knowledge appropriately.
In the fifth century BCE, a physician named Hippocrates began a medical school. He and his followers introduced new teachings and practices that changed the entire field of medicine. Hippocrates and his associates argued that it was disrespectful to the Gods to claim they would deliberately cause diseases and harm the human body. Instead, they argued, physicians should examine the effects of water, food, and climate upon a person's health. Furthermore, Hippocrates taught his students to observe and record the stages of an illness. He believed that after repeatedly observing a disease, a doctor could make an accurate prediction about the course that the disease would take.
The most famous contribution the Greeks made to modern medicine is the Hippocratic Oath. Doctors taking this oath promise to honor their teachers, do their best for the sick, never give anyone poison, and keep the secrets of their patients. Hippocrates probably did not write the oath, but students at his school most likely took a similar pledge before they were allowed to study there. The Greeks thought an ethical code for doctors was necessary because the practice of medicine was not regulated by the government--making it easy for dishonest individuals to take advantage of the sick. Over time, the medical profession has changed the original Hippocratic Oath to fit the modern practice of medicine. Nevertheless, the oath doctors take today still emphasizes patients' dignity and confidentiality, and the doctor's responsibility to use knowledge appropriately.
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Read the excerpt from the Hippocratic Oath below and determine which word from the list corresponds to each symbol.
poison women holy
see carry love
judgement swear house
physician abroad
poison women holy
see carry love
judgement swear house
physician abroad
HIPPOCRATIC OATH: MODERN VERSION
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of over treatment and therapeutic nihilism.<------(the idea that treatment is impossible.)
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of over treatment and therapeutic nihilism.<------(the idea that treatment is impossible.)
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.
After reading the ancient Hippocratic Oath and the modern Hippocratic Oath, compare and contrast the two texts. You must include two similarities and two differences.