Do tradition and religion influence the question? Certainly! In the East, in the Chinese race, Confucianism with its emphasis on benevolence, righteousness, and humanism greatly influences the behaviour of doctors. In the West, Christianity with its emphasis on loving God and loving your neighbour as yourself has a powerful influence."

     What do you think is the answer to this question? I myself decided to write to a doctor friend (a woman doctor) who lives in Scotland and ask her opinion. She wrote back and said (here is the letter dated 9th September, 1998):

     "At first thought, a good doctor, I should say, has the characteristics of a good member of society' he has kindness, patience, interest in other people, temperance (moderation), humility. But he, unlike the rest of humanity, also needs:

     knowledge of the human body,
     up-to-date information about new technical achievement in his specialty,
     contact with his fellow doctors, skill...judgment...
     loyalty and the capacity not to betray confidence,
     and, above all, the capacity for sheer hard work, often day and night."

     I feel sure you will agree with her views. I must point out the human qualities which she mentioned, such as kindness, patience, moderation, humility, and interest in other people. But she also mentions "up-to-date knowledge of new technical achievements in his specialty."

     At the present time there is tremendous emphasis on using scientific medical equipment for diagnosis and treatment.

     Hospital are full of advanced scientific equipment: the CT and MRI scans, microsurgery, advances in molecular genetics, and the astonishing range of tests available in the clinical laboratories.

     This is right and perfectly understandable.

     But we may forget the human side of medical practice and I would remind you of its importance: