Hippocrates is bestowed with the Immortal tag “Father of Medicine”, not because he invented any miraculous gene therapy or a modern virtual imaging of human organs, nor did he found any magic drugs .He didn’t receive a single award even from his local village, forget about any Nobel prize to him !
Mind you , he lived before Christ ,2ooo years ago , there was nothing in the hands of noble professionals, not even a piece of paper and pencil to note down patient’s symptom .They didn’t even know what organs human body contained no basic medical tests . They just had a pair of hand, working brain with six senses , strong will to work hard and most importantly a caring mind and a constant search for answers to lingering scientific queries .
Yes, Hippocrates is still holding the post of father of medicine because he was the first human to propagate thought that human diseases are not evil forces beyond our control, it may have scientific basis , every disease has a specific cause that arise from derangement of body function.
More important than this , he formulated a way to practice this profession in a dignified manner. He also predicted common sense may prevail over science in innumerable instances. Going through his quotes , one could wonder , he probably predicted technology might hijack human Intellect as well !
Now,we have every thing. Students read medicine in animated 3D class rooms , physicians get a deluge of body system data & images beamed straight into their ipad . One can perform complex interventions with ease in almost every organ or even replace it , if it doesn’t work .
Still , as on 2017 ,there is something huge , that is missing in the Noble profession when compared to ancient days (2 millenniums before!) when people thronged Hippocrates clinic in the remote Koss Island of Greece, where he used to sit with almost nothing , but was able to offer definite cure for many .
What is that missing link ? Without realizing what it is, we enter the Noble profession and fervently take the customary Hipocratic oath . For many (or most ?) of us it is amusing to read and practice that. Life has moved in fast lane since then. It is a tragic truth , Hippocratic oath have become redundant , obsolete .or outright humiliating for few !
Final message
Whatever you say, still Iam compelled to feel sorry for that “Good old man” who miscalculated the Integrity modern day Noble professional , (I would say, Mr H failed to realise doctors are also made from ordinary human beings ! )
It’s ok . . . here is a “Doctor’s life maintenance” manual : Keep reading it periodically !
British General medial council , has done a wonderful job . It has published a practical life maintenance and behavioral guide for doctors which I feel is most important text to be read periodically and of course followed !
Dr.S.Venkatesan MD 