Doctor Doctor

The medical profession is such a noble one bound with the ethics of saving lives. All healthcare personnel are sworn to the some contemporary form of the Hippocratic Oath (getting its name from the ancient Greek 'father of medicine') for which the original version as translated by J Chadwick and WN Mann, 1950 reads:

I swear by Apollo the healer, by Aesculapius, by Health and all the powers of healing, and call to witness all the gods and goddesses that I may keep this Oath and Promise to the best of my ability and judgement. I will pay the same respect to my master in the Science as to my parents and share my life with him and pay all my debts to him. I will regard his sons as my brothers and teach them the Science, if they desire to learn it, without fee or contract. I will hand on precepts, lectures and all other learning to my sons, to those of my master and to those pupils duly apprenticed and sworn, and to none other. I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgement; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it. I will not give a fatal draught to anyone if I am asked, nor will I suggest any such thing. Neither will I give a woman means to procure an abortion. I will be chaste and religious in my life and in my practice. I will not cut, even for the stone, but I will leave such procedures to the practitioners of that craft. Whenever I go into a house, I will go to help the sick and never with the intention of doing harm or injury. I will not abuse my position to indulge in sexual contacts with the bodies of women or of men, whether they be freemen or slaves. Whatever I see or hear, professionally or privately, which ought not to be divulged, I will keep secret and tell no one. If, therefore, I observe this Oath and do not violate it, may I prosper both in my life and in my profession, earning good repute among all men for my time. If I transgress and forswear this oath, may my lot be otherwise.

Yet in recent times, we begin to hear increasing news of doctors and other healthcare professionals flouting the rules and putting clients' health and in some cases, lives in jeopardy. (See today's The New Paper article by reporter Teh Jen Lee Are more doctors getting into trouble?) This is indeed a worrying trend. To make matters worse, some doctors have even begun glamorizing their profession and leading others to pursue a path of fame and fortune over a profession that is supposed heal people regardless of their background. Even with the advance of medical technology, healthcare costs have continued to rise. The idiom goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, and at the rate things go, it's better to stay healthy and avoid seeing the doctor.