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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3-page paper discusses whether or not the Hippocratic Oath encourages medical paternalism or patient autonomy; it finds that the Oath does encourage paternalism and suggests a way to begin revising it to encourage patient autonomy. Bibliography lists 2 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVHippo.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
what theyve learned, and avoid unnecessary surgery (Hippocratic Oath-Modern Version, 2001). While the Oath is administered routinely, physicians today are beginning to question its relevance, and whether it should
be sworn to at all. This essay considers the oath, whether it supports medical paternalism or patient autonomy; and if it does not support the latter, how it could
be revised so it does. Discussion Most of the sources Ive found believe that the Oath is structured so as to support medical paternalism (the idea that the doctor knows
best in all cases and is to be obeyed implicitly) rather than patient autonomy (the idea that the patient can make his own decisions regarding his treatment). A look
at the wording of the Oath makes it easy to see why this view has support; it is a view with which I concur. The Oath is worded so as
to imbue the speaker with a great deal of power. For example: "If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also
be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play
God" (Hippocratic Oath, 2001). It seems to me that the wording leads the young physician directly into the trap he hopes to avoid: playing God. There is
a degree of pomposity and gravity to the speech that is disturbing, as if the physician has been given some sort of divine revelation, not graduated from medical school.
The Oath also says that the doctor must remember he is part of society, with "special obligations" to all people, including those who are healthy as well as those who
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