Do No Harm.
Posted: Mon Feb 14, 2005 1:05 am
First, do no harm!
What is implicit in this simple precept of medicine?
An awesome power - the power to do harm.
Who gives you this power?
The patient.
A patient will come to you at his moment of greatest dread,
hand you a knife, and say, "Doctor cut me open."
Why?
Because he trusts you.
He trusts you the way a child trusts.
He trusts you - to do no harm.
Sad fact is, human beings are not worthy of trust.
It is human nature to lie, take short cuts, lose your nerve,
to get tired, make mistakes.
No rational patient would put his trust in a human being,
and we're not going to let him.
It is our mission here to rigorously and ruthlessly train the
humanity out of you and make you into something better.
We're gonna make doctors out of you.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The above was taken from a lecture to medical students in the
movie "PATCH ADAMS."
What is implicit in this simple precept of medicine?
An awesome power - the power to do harm.
Who gives you this power?
The patient.
A patient will come to you at his moment of greatest dread,
hand you a knife, and say, "Doctor cut me open."
Why?
Because he trusts you.
He trusts you the way a child trusts.
He trusts you - to do no harm.
Sad fact is, human beings are not worthy of trust.
It is human nature to lie, take short cuts, lose your nerve,
to get tired, make mistakes.
No rational patient would put his trust in a human being,
and we're not going to let him.
It is our mission here to rigorously and ruthlessly train the
humanity out of you and make you into something better.
We're gonna make doctors out of you.
-------------------------------------------------------------
The above was taken from a lecture to medical students in the
movie "PATCH ADAMS."
