Paper Example on Hippocratic Oath

Q1. Reactions to Reading the Hippocratic Oath

Throughout the medical history, there has always been a desire for communal commitment to humane and ethical practice as well as moral ideals. Hippocrates set the stepping stones or the foundations of classifying illnesses, developing guidelines and protocols, definitions and medical terms, and medication, which are considered the golden principles for diagnosing, managing, and preventing diseases. The Hippocratic Oath has for a long time stood as principles for physician's conduct in their professions. The classical oath has and stays to serve its purpose in protecting the sacredness of the medical career and at the same time develops a basis for the dutiful treatment of the sick. However, the classical version of the Hippocratic Oath has several criticisms to the bioethical moral principles in practice today. Most of its stands are irrelevant and impractical in the modern society, and that's why there is a revised version.

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The contemporary version of the Hippocratic Oath is a prerequisite in defending the sacredness of the medical profession in today's evolving society.A role that cannot be accomplished by the classical and modern oath. In the classical version inscribed by Hippocrates and the modern version, a physician's commitment is set by making a promise to the healing gods. In the contemporary version, no promises are made to any goddess or gods, and some people find this spiritual obligation a requirement in establishing a shared ethical principle. The obligation for a deity promise to define a doctor as an ethical and trustworthy profession can be perceived as an issue itself as it demoralizes the sophisticated and professional standard of physicians. Moreover, the original oath makes no sense with the calling for doctors 'not to use the knife', since in the contemporary society many illnesses require surgery. While the ancient oath calls for denial of pleasure when one violates the codes, most contemporary oaths do not insist on the physician to be held accountable for the pledges made. Undeniably, the Hippocratic oath fails to address the facts of a medical evolved society which has seen vast social, political, economic, and scientific changes, a society of practicing euthanasia, legalized abortion, and epidemics not experienced in the past.

Q2. Doctor's Response to the Moral Principles in the Hippocratic Oath

Medicine as a profession demands doctor's extraordinary moral sensitivity as they perform their duties in improving patient's health. An oath is normally taken to signify the sole declaration whereby professionals initiate joint ethical guidelines and describe suitable professional behavior reflecting their distinct obligations and roles in the society. With the modern challenges being faced today such as the increasing financial costs of healthcare, the third-payer system, and value of care-crisis, deliberations of the Hippocratic Oath and sermon on medical standards are more crucial as most practicing physicians fail to abide by the oath.

Today, we face powerful deity 'money' which pushes for good and bad practices, and this has a great impact on the medical profession. Doctors face challenges relevant to innovative forms of cancer and medical research such as financial struggles, individual stress from drugs prices, diverse care patterns, encounters with insurance and pharmaceutical companies, and human experiments. Raised costs of drugs and health care limits patients from paying for medical practices thus leading to patient harm. Lack of health care for a considerable number of patients contributes to medical harm and social injustice. While adherence to the Hippocratic Oath demands doctors to advocate and address health care access to all patients, these constraints in costs force many physicians to violate the oaths. But on the other hand, some devoted doctors who put their patient's interest before their personal and financial interests, have joined unions and humanitarian organizations to help societies by providing adequate health care to every individual despite their financial status. Medical ethics and oaths need a philosophical grounding for medical professionals, yet the Hippocratic Oath does not meet these demands.

Q3. Doctor's Experiences in Medical Schools

The Hippocratic Oath is quite different in certain medical schools since some do not recite the oath during their graduations. It is with no doubt that the guidelines of the Hippocratic oath are still in practice today. Physicians practice the art of healing and are therefore seen to be performing their obligation of keeping patients in the best health status. Nevertheless, at times there is a prerequisite to harming a patient for them to get better. The principle of 'no harm' is proposed for physicians to comprehend their roles since their actions and decisions determine if a patient dies or gets to live.

The documentary Doctor Diaries brings out many surprises of what medical students experience through their study period in medicine. One crucial observation I noted from the video was how many medical students transform and adjust to life as they try to achieve their medical career. At first, the students seem to be so energetic and proud of their future in the medical profession, but they end up being exhausted as others loose passion opting for other careers. It is also surprising that medical students are taught purely on biomedical treatment methods without considering other alternative treatments. This scientific, educational approach limits the doctor's capacity to care for patients on other spectrums such as cultural, emotional, and psychological. I learned that physicians ought to move away from the mono-centric approach of the scientific model and explore their skills in diverse types of treatment to accommodate their patient's desires.

From the documentary, I also learned that being a physician is not a guarantee of getting a jar of gold after acquiring the degree. One's life can still tumble as a medical practitioner. From the stories, in Doctors Diaries, most of the doctors saw their marriage life falling apart due to lack of commitment and others went on being divorced. One of the doctors even experienced hardship in getting employment. Watching the documentary was quite an eye-opener in understanding what it takes in being in the medical school, residency, and the ultimate profession. Along with nurses, specialized doctors are on the top line of medicine. As professionals they engage in group or individual practices diagnosing patients, getting medical histories, recommending as well as directing treatment for ill or injured patients. Physicians offer to counsel to their patients as well on various diseases, medical conditions, injury, and preemptive measures including fitness and diet. My view on the medical training has changed. Even though the price is high when it comes to time committed in medical schools, it is nevertheless an extraordinary journey, and the association that it eventually allows doctors to have with patients is more fulfilling.

Perceptions of Doctors

The actions, decisions, and ideas we make today shape our future. The same can be attributed to our past. Universally, our past has shaped the progress of the philosophical, economic, political, and health system today. One of the largest impacts of history comes from Ancient Greece and in particular the Hippocratic Oath which pertains to medical practices in the health system. The Hippocrates practices and philosophies influenced the growth of Contemporary Western medicine. In this essay, I outline why I cannot perceive doctors in a different way.

With the rapid evolution of medicine, today medical practitioners use their roles not only with the intention of saving lives and providing solutions to the sick but also for business practices with a focus on high profits. Contemporary medicine is not just a triangle between an illness, patient, and the doctor; instead it is a balance between developing scientific and medical knowledge, society's demands, political and financial realities, and patient's expectations. The entire burden on medical practitioners is unfair. Physicians experience several problems such as high insurance, underpayment, overworking, and medical malpractice and this could be the leading cause of most doctors using their profession for business purposes. Most physicians get to go against the Hippocratic oath by performing abortions and euthanasia with the aim of getting extra cash to offset their high insurance. Some would think this is a violation of rights but we are in a society of survival for the fittest, so I cannot blame them all the same.

For this reason, I think there is a need for a revised oath to the Hippocrates oath. Moreover, consider a physician attending to a dying patient, and there is an experimental treatment available. But the effects of the treatment are unknown, and a doctor has to decide on whether to give the patient the treatment that could be possibly harmful but would still cure them or avoid the treatment and wait for the disease to take its course. I think the oaths purpose is to guide the doctors to make critical thoughts before implementing their actions and hence should not be blamed since the oath is not precise on how to deal with certain circumstances. If the patient decides to be euthanized for instance, then the physician must perform euthanasia, and for this reason, they should not be judged for violation of ethics since they are just performing their duties. Moreover, the Hippocratic Oath demands not to harm patients but failing to perform euthanasia is also harming the patient by letting their illnesses cause more suffering to them.

Medicine as a career attracts many people with different personal beliefs and values in several ways. A doctor might view their profession as a form of humanity and saving lives, laborious application of scientific revolution, a lucrative business, personal relationship in life, or an institution. Based on experiences with doctors, I think that if the physicians hold some philosophical, moral attention towards their practice, then protecting patients from health-harming acts can be minimized and in turn, justice will be upheld. On the other hand, doctors can build their reputation. Therefore, to uphold the equality in society, and reduce negative judgments towards doctors, physicians ought to be guided by an oath with a firm basis on philosophy and clearly defined precepts.