One of the most interesting ethical codes in modern times is in the medical field. The Hippocratic Oath is one of the earliest manuscripts in known history. The Hippocratic Oath obliges a newly minted physician to swear upon a number of Greek healing gods that he/she will follow the ethical standards of the profession. I’m concerned that this oath doesn’t have the same significance and respect, as in years past. The modern version of the oath is only a shadow of the original oath. Today’s oath might not even be considered, but rather, a graduation speech. Some physicians have even gone so far as to question if the oath has a place in modern society. “According to a 1993 survey of 150 U.S. and Canadian medical schools, for example, only 14 …show more content…
It is difficult to use the Hippocratic Oath because it has been altered from its original text. Also, it seems to be interpreted differently from medical professional to another. Sometimes, a physician is put in a situation where interpreting the Hippocratic Oath results in a no win situation. For example, an oncologist is treating a terminally ill cancer patient. The cancer patient has no desire to continue living, because of the crippling pain. As a medical professional, should he/she be obliged to assist the patient in ending their suffering in the most humane approach in a perfectly legal manner or allow the pain to continue? In one hand, if the oncologist proceeds with the euthanasia, the physician would be breaking their Hippocratic Oath. In the other hand, the physician might face the reality that the patient has to live the remainder of the life suffering, against the wishes. This is only one of an infinite quantity of scenarios that could have been created. This topic was chosen because medical ethics is a complex topic. It gets complicated when other peoples’ wellbeing are on the line, based off your own decisions. Medical ethics involves much consideration because many choices in the medical field cannot be taken back, so the physician only has one shot to get it