Now that you’ve read the full Hippocratic Oath in the last post, let’s take a look at some of the lines in particular.
Note that it opens with
“Now being admitted to the profession of medicine,
I solemnly pledge to dedicate my life in the service of humanity.”
Service.
We are here to serve.
To serve humanity.
What does this mean to me?
We are here to care for other human beings.
To relieve suffering.
To cure often to comfort always.
In the best of times of their lives and the absolute worst, most painful, or scariest times of their lives.
We bear witness to the entire breadth of the human experience from the moments of birth through the moments of death.
We are uniquely trained, uniquely qualified, uniquely experienced, uniquely able to provide this service to the humankind.
This a profound and deeply meaningful position in society.
We must not take it lightly.
We start to take it for granted, because it is our everyday life. However, we must periodically step back, to remind ourselves, that no matter how painful it has been at times, it is and has been an honor to be a part of this noble profession of medicine.
