There are many writings on medical ethics in Chinese literature up to the 19th century, before the introduction of western scientific medicine. One of the good features of these writings is the encouragement to give gratuitous (free) service to the poor; a weakness is that they do not condemn secret remedies (in contrast to the sharing of all therapeutic advances and prescriptions in modern days), nor is there mention of the teaching of medical knowledge, such as is referred to in the Hippocratic oath.

     In 1968, the World Medical Association meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, formulated a physician's oath on being admitted as a member of the medical profession (the Geneva Declaration). It is much shorter than the Hippocratic oath.

The new doctor says:

"1.I solemnly pledge myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity.
2. I will give my teachers the respect and gratitude which is their due.
3. I will practice my profession with conscience and dignity; the health of my patient      will be my first consideration.
4. I will maintain, by all means in my power, the honour and the noble traditions of the medical profession; my colleagues will be my brothers."

     Finally, the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 passed the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." (Mrs. Roosevelt was the Chairman of the drafting committee.) Article 1 says, "All human beings are born free, in dignity and rights." (The word "dignity" has a special meaning here, which is "worthy of respect.") Article 1 goes on, "Human beings are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in the spirit of brotherhood." There are 50 articles.

     The whole declaration states what each human being as a right to expect on entering the world-simply because he or she is a human being! This must and does include the right to health, and a successful patient-doctor relationship. This is regardless of all cultures and creeds.

     It has been suggested that every medical student on graduation should be given a copy of this declaration.

     I return to the question, "How to be a good doctor?"