2012 History Day: Process Paper
The subject I chose for my history day project was on the Greek physician Hippocrates (460BC-377BC) and his famous Hippocratic Oath. My interest was sparked, when I learned that Hippocrates was known to be the father of western medicine and the producer of the code of medical ethics, the Hippocratic Oath. My interested furthered, after finding out that Hippocrates, was also known to be the father of western holistic healing. I as well, am a holistic healer through the practice, of the Hawaiian art of, lomilomi; which I have been living for 13 plus year’s . In the art of lomilomi, I too, look at the body in wholeness.
Many people assume lomilomi, is just a type of massage, but in essence it is more than that. As a practitioner of the holistic art we analyze and diagnose, the being of the person, which includes: mind, body, soul, and spirit. The reason for this is because, the emotions, body, and spirit, must be looked at to successfully asses the illness at hand, because most illness does not only stem from the physical realm. Almost always, illness come from a combination of two or all three aspects.
For me, as well as for Hippocrates, live our practice, and not only treat it as a job. Ethics is a very important part to our profession, because without ethics, the practitioner maybe tempted to dabble on the wrong side of the line. For example, as for the physician, one might be Ok with giving a patient medicine or product, that they have not tested yet, or probably knows it will not work for the patient; but still sell it to the patient just for the money. Another big no, no, in the medical and my profession, is to have affairs with your patients. Ethics is very important for the healing field, because it couldl make or break your reputation; and in this field reputation is everything.
Ethics is what keeps the practitioner professional, and keeps the patient comfortable with you. If the patient is not comfortable with the physician, the physicians lively hood will be at stake. The Hippocratic Oath, written in 4th century B.C., paved an ethical path for the followers of the Hippocratic method, of the day and the future. Some patients of today, feels that some doctors of the technical medical world, deviated from the ethical path for fame and fortune. Because of this, they are seeking out physician or practitioners, who are true to the old ways.
During the process of my project, I found it difficult to find books of primary intellect, in the schools library, as well as online e-books. The only thing that I would consider a primary source in my project, is the translated Hippocratic Oaths. Another difficulty that I encountered was that many books, emphasized that it was not sure that the writings, that are claimed to be Hippocrates, was written by himself. Many books and articles mentioned it could have been his students who documented his work after he died. The readings also said, when you see the name Hippocrates, you can assume, that it may have been written by some else other than Hippocrates, and the name Hippocrates, in the text, relates from the Hippocratic teachings and thought pattern.
If I had more time for this project, I would have liked to have spent more time, investigating how patients feel about their doctors. Do they feel like they are getting treated in an ethical way? Does their doctor show compassion when they are in poor health? And if they had a choice, would they pick the old holistic method of treatment, or the technical modern method, or would they go to both. I also, would of wanted to interview some doctor’s to see what the Hippocratic Oath meant to them.
The way this historical event will help me in the modern times is, to make me more aware of my choice when choosing a doctor, and confirm me, that being ethical is always the right thing to do. I must fight temptations that arise, not only during my practice, but in just life itself. When choosing a doctor, I will look for one that’s open to holistic healing, as well as being a good practitioner of Western medicine. The doctor the I want to seek out is one that will use and exhaust natural cures first, before administer heavy medications and surgery; even though that may mean they may have to refer me out to someone else.
This History Day project was my first. And even though, honestly, history is not my favorite subject, I did have fun doing the project and learned a lot. Not only did I learn how Greek medicine involved into today’s Western medicine, I also was very intrigued that the readings, all claimed that modern medicine began with holistic beginning.
