My philosophy of medical practice is expressed by
a) the duties of the doctor as defined by the General Medical Council
b) the ancient Greek Hippocratic Oath

The duties of a doctor registered with the General Medical Council

Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and well-being. To justify
that trust, we as a profession have a duty to maintain a good standard of
practice and care and to show respect for human life. In particular as a doctor
you must:

  • make the care of your patient your first concern;
  • treat every patient politely and considerately;
  • respect patients' dignity and privacy;
  • listen to patients and respect their views;
  • give patients information in a way they can understand;
  • respect the rights of patients to be fully involved in decisions about their
    care;
  • keep your professional knowledge and skills up to date;
  • recognise the limits of your professional competence;
  • be honest and trustworthy;
  • respect and protect confidential information;
  • make sure that your personal beliefs do not prejudice your patients'
    care;
  • act quickly to protect patients from risk if you have good reason to
    believe that you or a colleague may not be fit to practise;
  • avoid abusing your position as a doctor; and
  • work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients' interests.
In all these matters you must never discriminate unfairly against your patients
or colleagues. And you must always be prepared to justify your actions to
them.


The Oath of Hippocrates

I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all
the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfil according
to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my
life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of
mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and
to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee and covenant; to
give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my
sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have
signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but
no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability
and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a
suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive
remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in
favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining
free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual
relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the
treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread
abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfil this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and
art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress
it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.
Philosophy