CAP TODAY Pathology/Laboratory Medicine/Laboratory Management
The best presentation of such an oath that I can remember was at my daughter’s medical school graduation ceremony at Columbia University. The dean reminded us that the Hippocratic Oath unites us with countless generations of physicians who preceded us, that it has been administered in languages no longer spoken and sworn to gods no longer worshipped. The new physicians (and older physicians in the audience) recited it together.
It is worth taking a moment to go back to a few excerpts from that oath to remind ourselves how much we have in common. For this purpose, I will use the classical version translated by Ludwig Edelstein in 1943.
“Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice.” As physicians, we all pledge to enter all treatment settings without bias for political view or any other reason. In our pathology work, we treat every sample exactly the same, caring about all patients equally. A cancer diagnosis is no different for a liberal patient or a conservative one, a religious patient or an atheist. We do not take sides in our medicine, which also serves us well in the way we relate to each other as pathologists.
“What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men . . . I will keep to myself.” As physicians, we are trained to compartmentalize information, understanding what needs to be kept confidential. That gift also allows us to set aside partisan issues and focus on the medical issues most important to the care of every patient.
I truly hope we can maintain our focus on the things that unite us as pathologists and as physicians, for our benefit and for the benefit of our patients. This may be difficult, but it will make our community stronger and more effective if we can.
Dr. Godbey welcomes communication from CAP members. Write to him at president@cap.org.