• 의학교육논단
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• 제14권1호
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• pp.1-6
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• 2012

The idea that medicine itself imposes certain obligations upon the physician probably originated in Greece. It is Socrates in the fifth century BC who first discussed medical professionalism. Socrates said that no physician should seek the advantage of the physician but of the patient. For the physician was a ruler of bodies and not a money-maker. However, it is Hippocrates, the contemporary of Socrates and the Father of Medicine, who founded medical professionalism education and professional medical ethics. The professional spirit of Greek physicians is summed up in the magic phrase 'love of humanity.' In Epidemics I, Hippocrates expressed hope that physicians would help patients, or at least do them no harm. He also said, "Life is short; Art is long" in The Aphorisms. Here he described the reflective philosopher and the practiced physician. At once he sang the shortness of human life and the extent of the medical arts. Moreover, he made students swear by the gods that "I will keep pure and holy both my life and my art." The Oath can serve as a coherent starting point and organizing framework for medical professionalism education and professional medical ethics. We need to have an opportunity to employ this fascinating text in teaching medical professionalism and medical ethics. In this article, the author asserts that the Hippocratic Aphorism (Life is short; Art is long) and The Oath, the most famous work of the entire Hippocratic collection, should be used for medical professionalism education.