The Privilege of Being a Physician and the Immutable Values of the Medical Profession

Abstract

The medical profession has been, is, and will continue to be under siege by a variety of sources most of which are external to the profession and not under our control. The consequences of this unrelenting pressure are leading to burnout, early retirement, and low career satisfaction. Arguably, these and perhaps other not-well-recognized factors has influenced the well-being of physicians and culminated in a high suicide rate in the profession. However, the pressures that our profession have been under over the last 2,500 years, albeit less pronounced than the current ones, have been successfully navigated by going back to the foundational values of medicine that are both intemporal and immutable. We should stand by these principles and defend the description of the Ideal Internist; these principles should guide how health care is delivered as they are rooted in the fiduciary commitment our profession has made to society since the Hippocratic Oath was written.

Fig. 1

The tension between the substance and style of medicine.

Fig. 2

The overwhelming current health care delivery environment.

Fig. 3

“The Doctor” by Luke Fildes. On display at Tate Britain, London, England.