The Hippocratic Oath and the Ethics of Medicine

Rating:
Summary: The relevance of Hippocrates today
Review: This most readable book should be read by all aspiring physicians. There is no doubt that codes from Hippocrates to the JAMA, the Yale and a variety of "home-made" codes have a self serving aspect but one that has become less so (or less obvious) over the years. Dr. Miles emphasis on the social obligations of physicians is more than timely--the many problems in medicine today (from the shameful lack of access to rampant poverty which plays a role in health and disease)are often passed over as "system errors" as though they were acts of nature. That, however, is the point: Cyclones and earthquakes are things with which we have to deal and which (for now, at least) we cannot prevent. The lack of access to medical care, the fact that many elderly are unable to afford their medication and those without part B cannot see a physician until they are deathly sick, the growing disparity between the grindingly poor and the immensely wealthy are that way because it is the way we have structured our society. They can be changed and physicians have a responsibility to be leaders in that field. Dr. Miles emphasizes this fact--and one hopes that it is taken to heart.

This is a book that every medical student should read cover to cover as should any physician or allied health care worker. Indeed, it is a book that the layman would find profitable, informative and in places amusing. It would, by the way, make a wonderful graduation gift to the fledgling physician. If one has any interest in medicine this book is a must.