First aphorism of Organon of Medicine

1. Dr. ANUPAM SETHI MALHOTRA B.H.M.S, M.D.(Hom)Director Research HCI, Gen Secy DREAMS, Former President IIHP M 9810545958dranupamsethimalhotra@gmail.com

The Physicians high and only aim

It looks like, the Physicians high and only aim is to earn money and a mammoth of it. It does not matter whether it is at the cost of patients life or own morals and values. And what else! there is a complete support system for the help big corporate hospitals, big pharmaceutical companies and state of the art types laboratories. As long as the patient and attendants are paying to make the patient more sick than before, the physician does not have to worry about the piousness or the nobleness of the profession or about any oath (Hippocratic or Hahnemanian).Dr Hahnemann wrote the first aphorism of Organon - The Physicians high and only mission is to restore the sick to health, to cure as it is termed, - in the era when the art of healing was turning into the art of drugging. In the present era it has turned into art of making money without morals. The doctors who follow the missionary zeal for the profession are still there but definitely in minority, are considered fools and are able to mere fulfil needs of the family. And surely, among this minority HOMOEOPATHS are a majority, because right from the first year this aphorism is taught to them like a table of 2 to K. G. students, which they dont forget even in sleep. Had this were taught to peers of other systems too, it would have been much more relevant at this time than at any other time.

2. Dr.R.K.BHANOTCDMOThe physicians high & only mission is to restore the sick to health,to cure ,as it is termed-The line in the 1st aphorism of Organon,as stated by Hahnemann holds true even today. But it does need some modification,considering the mammoth changes that have taken place in the field of medicine till date. Undoubtedly the highest mission of a physician, even today remains the same i.e. to restore the sick to health,but that is no more the only mission. A physicians mission, in todays context, when medicine has advanced tremendously,also includes his role as a preventer of diseases, as a family counselor/advisor in giving direction to the pregnant mothers regarding the health of the unborn child-even advising whether to let the pregnancy continue or not in cases of many Genetic diseases,as helper in leading the patient to wards a final peaceful departure-in countries where Euthanasia has been legalized-,in assisting the Law & Order authorities to nab the culprits in criminal cases as well as in helping decide the paternity question in disputed cases.So we find that todays physician does not have a single role but can find himself in any of these multiple facets of the medical profession. Finally, it will be contentious to suggest that the other roles of todays physician are not equally high.Hahnemenn, no doubt was much ahead of his time as is clearly shown by his questioning & investigative nature, which led him to discover Homoeopathy at a time when no scientific approach ,at least in the field of medicine,existed at all,as shown by the explanation given in Cullens Materie Medica regarding the action of Cinchona bark in treating intermittent fevers.3. Dr VINITA GOELCDMOFirst aphorism of Organon of MedicineThe physician's high and only mission is to restore the sick to health, to cure, as it is termed1.Dictionary meaning of physicianA physician doctor is an individual who identifies sickness as well as prescribes and administers treatment for people suffering from injury or diseases. They carefully inspect the patients, obtain medical histories, and order, perform, and they also interpret diagnostic tests. They are also responsible for counseling patients on diet, hygiene, and preventive healthcare.According to Wikipedia

Aphysicianis aprofessionalwho practicesmedicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring humanhealththrough the study,diagnosis, and treatmentofdisease,injury, and other physical and mental impairments. They may focus their practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, or methods of treatment known asspecialist medical practitioners or assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities known asgeneral practitioners.[2]Medical practice properly requires both a detailedknowledgeof theacademic disciplines(such as anatomyandphysiology) underlying diseases and their treatment thescienceof medicine and also a decentcompetencein its applied practice the art orcraft of medicine.Medical ethicsrequire that physicians show consideration, compassion and benevolence for theirpatients.I think in todays context also the aim of the physician has not changed as in subsequent aphorism Dr Hahnemann wrote about the the case taking, knowledge of disease, diagnosis , maintaining causes, knowledge of medicines ,diet, Hygiene etc for restoring the sick to health. In my view today also the The physician's high and only mission is to restore the sick to health, to cure, as it is termed.

4. Dr.SUDHA BALA CDMOPhysicians high & only mission in todays context

To restore the sick to health ,first the physician himself should be healthy by having nutritious diet, adequate sleep, proper physical exercise and above all positive thoughts . With the same principals he can keep his family healthy & happy. Thus he can deliver his best, without distraction, to the sick to restore their health. In the era of advanced technology physician can keep his knowledge update by going through various e journals & literature. He should make liberal use of latest investigations for monitoring purposes. He should share the failure & success freely with participation in healthy discussions.Physician should be a good councilor & should listen the patient with patience with close observation

5.Dr. JYOTI GOSWAMICDMOMission of the physician is to cure the sick and preserve the health in all its realms.[ physical,mental,emotional,social and spiritual].It is universal truth which is beyond the boundaries of past,present and future.It cannot be changed but the approach is to be smart and updated as per the changed life style and food habits.80% of cases are complicated with mixed miasms and supressed.So if we can simplify them with our wide range of potency or partially palliate them that will be also do well.

6. Dr. PROMILA MALHOTRA (CDMO ,EAST/N.EAST)

The physician s high and only mission in todays context

The high and only mission of a physician is to restore the sick to health, to cure, as it is termed. Every doctor tries to cure his patients and this feeling comes only when the commitment comes from within and then only it becomes our mission.Physicians are supposed to serve but they also have their financial, emotional and social needs. It is high time that , once and for all, to stop deceiving suffering humanity with idle talk, but in real terms help and to cure them. Now a days each one of us try to be a good doctor as well as earn a lot of money as we also have duties towards our family, our parents and the society we live in. BUT ONCE AND FOR ALL our wishes should not cause us to deviate from the real purpose of being a physician.

7.Dr. SUDHIR SHARMACMO

What I perceive the physician's high and only mision is ...........

"The physician"s high and only mission in today's cotext will remain the same as it was ages ago--- "TO CURE"--- restore the sick to health. But in changing scenario where ethics values are changing and concept of nuclear family in the society, and escalating cost of living, CURE can be obtained by leading good quality life. It can be obtained by restoration of Mental, physical, social, and economic health by keeping life style related disorders away.

So I conclude A physician's role to be modified more into a preventive & public health guide in keeping away the modren day sufferings and Life style related disorders leading to CURE.

8.Dr. ASHOK SHARMA (C.M.O VIVEK VIHAR) The physicians high and only mission in todays context.From times immortal it has been the high and only mission of a physician is the attempt to save and heal the human life and sick. The medical science has advanced like anything in the past years, in todays context patients and doctors differ in their beliefs, attitudes and expectations. Good medical practice hinges on the ability to recognize and respect these differences and to treat every patient as an individual. Trusted and respected doctor patient relationship is itself therapeutic. In the modern care health care is increasingly provided by a multi disciplinary team. Therefore the cardinal inclusion should be, the three dimensional concept of perception of ENGEL as bio-psycho-social. Familiarity with the Eisenbergs concept of Disease, illness and sickness. He has elicited when physicians dismiss illness because ascertainable disease is absent, they fail to meet their socially assigned responsibilities. So to summarize the physicians mission in the modern context should be, that he should give equal gravity to his Personal values and Professional knowledge while attempting to save and healing human life and sick.

9.Dr. BHAVNA GUPTAC.M.O(H)DGD(H) Shalimar Bagh

As per my view, even in today's context,undoubtedly, the physician's high and only mission is the restoration of health of a diseased individual, as it is mentioned in Charaka Samhita too-"That alone is the right medicine which can remove disease.He alone is the true physician who can restore health."It is clear that a true physician should work selflessly and with full dedication to cure sick people and eradicate diseases.Nowadays with the advent of so many difficult and incurable diseases like AIDS, lifestyle and genetic disorders, the physician's role should not be restricted to provide curative treatment alone.The physician should play a significant role in promotion of health and prevention of diseases to achieve the goal of " Health For All."But these days, most of the physicians treat diseased individuals with the primary aim to earn individual profits and gains keeping the mission of the physician on the backfoot.Thus the medical profession has lost its noble touch and the health of the society, at large, is compromised.

10. Dr.VANDANAC.M.O(H)DGDH, Nangloi PHYSICIANS HIGH AND ONLY MISSION

Physicians only mission should be to cure sick and restore his/her health .Physician should be able to diagnose the nature of disease, its degree, severity, cause & various prognoses. He should be able to classify disease under categories like- curable & incurable, reversible & irreversible, whether the disease is curable by medicine or need some surgery.Now a days as stress and lifestyle is taking its toll on health of people. Diseases like Diabeties , hypertension, cancer are emerging as the major challenge for physicians.Curing sick, means curing the man who is sick not his body or a tissue. A physician should consider health & state of disease as not a material aspect but spiritual i.e. immaterial life principle which is integrated with body & mind in the human. The state of ease is health & state of disease is the sick state which is nothing but altered state of health. And the way of altering the altered state of a healthy man, back to the state of ease is known as cure.That means the person is call by a specific name i.e physician when his aim is to focus on to bring the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being ( and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity) back in a person who is suffering and permanently annihilates all visible and perceptible signs and symptoms and bring back the harmonious flow of vital force. Though diagnosis and pathophysiology are significant for prognosis but if he is unable to give patient relief of his sufferings then he is not a physician. Instead on explaining patient the details of how ,what and why physician should focus on treating the sick People can be sloppy or careless about their work. They may not fulfill their duty. But when the commitment comes from within, when it becomes our mission, we will really do what is in the best interest of our patient. And that is what Hahnemann wanted each one of us to do.

11.Dr.SUNIL KANNADACMO(H)

High & Only Mission of the Physician

Highest and Noblest should be the mission, of the noblest of all the profession(al)s. Physician is that helping hand which bridges the gap in the road to recovery; from dis-ease to ease. Knowledge & skill crafted by experience are his tools . But, as in mechanics, tool and operator doesnt guarantee the best output; it is the way you are going to use it. Simply, it is the art of implementing. Art , cannot be separated from medicine , as it is deeply, marvelously incorporated with life-in all its forms and functions. As long as this artistic part is preserved, there is harmony or health. As far as human beings are concerned this art should be maintained both in psyche and soma. We all know psyche has an undeniable role in disease and ease. The pace with which the patient progresses towards recovery depends a lot on his state of mind. So it becomes the first and foremost task of the physician to put him at ease and boost his courage in confronting the intimidating disease condition. For delivering this confidence to the patient, the physician should first be compassionate to his patient. He should not , just remain a sophisticated machine (most of the time working conditionally), instead he should be a reservoir of compassion and positive attitude, working unconditionally. Even in cases where he is not able to cure, a simple fondly gesture, a friendly word can bring unbelievable ease to the suffering of his fellow being. In short, our highest mission should be, as the saying goes- to treat often , cure (sometimes) BUT TO COMFORT ALWAYS !!.

12. Dr.SUDHIR BATRACMO(H)Today is the time of fastfood, internet, chat, telemedicine. Nobody has the time for relations, art, mother nature. The physician being also the part of todays time has drifted as any other human being due to a sea-change in our day to day routine, upbringing, outlook. In todays context it has become more pertinent to stress upon the aim of the physician. I would like to quote Sir William Osler:The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business; a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.

Thus, even in todays world of consumerism, the physician must keep themselves immune to fallacies of the fast lifestyle, materialistic gains and the rest will follow. It is easier said than done but this is the key. If we can just keep ourselves away from the business of kickbacks, malpractices, false claims; the Physician in us will do the rest.So, the the physicians high and only purpose in todays context is summed up in the famous words of Hippocrates:Primum non nocere( First do No harm)

13.Dr. SANJEEV AGARWAL

Physicians high & only mission in todays context

As I felt about First aphorism in todays context , pl go through if anything is relevent for u , I shall be glad. The high and only mission of homeopathic physician is to restore sick to health and to cure . ..The holistic way to heal the mental and physical deviation of health until it is completely healed with commitment & full dedication, without pride and prejudice. The Masters view in todays context can be fulfilled only through Govt Body if Govt takeover the manufacturing of Homeopathic medicines and supply the medicines freely to all legally qualified and registered homeopathic practitioners either in Govt premises or in private sector so as to give free of charge to every sick individual either rich or poor. Let the restoration of health be environmentally safe and economically viable with prevention of derangement in future. Medicines become divine tools when the physician becomes selfless and pray to GOD for earliest recovery of the sick. Patient or sick individual wants real help, not fake assurances. Physician has to deliver health, not assurances.

14. Dr.BEENA AMARBODHI

THE PHYSICIANS HIGH AND ONLY MISSION IN TODAYS CONTEXTThe word mission means much more than aim. It is to go out into the world and spread what one believes in. Being a physician is considered to be the most sacred of all human occupations. Therefore one who enters this profession should be honest, compassionate, unprejudiced and uncompromising in principles. This profession should not just be means of earning our bread. When we have donned the cloak of a homoeopathy physician, our mission should be to make homoeopathy the real system of medicine, to preserve the health of people and cure the sick. To accomplish our mission we should know the tools of our trade. Study of homoeopathic principles and homoeopathic materia medica need a lifelong commitment. We should be bold and wise in our pursuit to accomplish our mission. Only then we will be trice blessed by our Divine Creator.

15.Dr.ANJU JETHANISMO, High court of Delhi My view regarding "the physician's high and only mission in modern day context" is as follows In view of onslaught of deep-seated advanced pathological disorders of varied origins such as auto-immune disorders, genetic disorders, neuro-pervasive developmental disorder in todays era; the physician high and only mission should be improving the quality of life upto the level of cure as and where the disease condition warrants. This should not only envisage curative plan of treatment but also encouraging socio-cultural adaptation of patient to his illness. In essence the high mission should be to enable the patient as a person to enjoy the sense of well being and optimize the important possibilities of his or her life.

16.Dr.MAHESH.K.TS.M.O, DGHD Vikaspuri

High and only Mission of the physician.In order to interpret any phrase in the present time, first it has to be understood in the context and time it was written.The word mission itself has also been translated as calling by some. And this is not entirely wrong as Hahnemann had used the German word Beruf.Des Arztes hchster und einziger Beruf ist, kranke Menschen gesund zu machen, was man Heilen nennt 1).A look at the different words used by Hahnemann will help in correctly assessing the idea put forward in the aphorism.The word mission means a strongly felt aim, ambition or calling, where as calling can be defined as one's occupation, profession or trade , a strong urge towards some profession activity or vocation.High- ranking above the others of same kind only- Single or solitary.In the first aphorism Hahnemann was condemning the practice of making empty speculations and hypothesis regarding the life processes and origins of disease. Instead of this Hahnemann wanted the medical profession to concentrate on the real work at hand which was the healing of sick, and how this is achieved he clearly explains in the following text.The word Mission or calling is also understood has the vocation of a religious organisation to go out into the world and spread its faith. Though the word mission and missionary has a religious flavour to it, it doesn't mean that Hahnemann was introducing a concept of divine decree or putting Homoeopathy on the pedestal of a religion. He understood Homoeopathy as a simple medical art , always constant in its principles as well as in its procedures. The phrase high and only mission of the physician can be taken in this context also, which simply means the occupation of a physician is to spread the right method of healing and for Hahnemann this could be achieved only by restoring the sick to health.A re-reading of this phrase in the present times only reaffirms the concepts and vision of Hahnemann, because the mission whether it is taken simply as a profession or considered much more than that demands from the physician only his true objective , ie. healing of the Sick , to cure as it is termed. Because if we strictly follow this dictum , everything else will naturally follow.

MORE COMMENTS INVITEDDr.AmarBodhiCongratulations to all the contributors. This topic will always ignite the thought process of any intelligent and responsible physician. The topic raises certain key questions like who is a physician, what is sick, what is health, and what is cure?One has to think about the development of science of therapeutics in per-se. Of course the development of other sciences has a great influence in medicine .But is it a real development in Medicine and its philosophy? Though it has made medicine sophisticated, it has not helped to sooth the minds of suffering mankind.Different Medical philosophies remind you about your mission. This profession is noble; the selection of this profession is not only by choice but also by destiny.Once you are in this profession, you have to empower yourself with knowledge gained from studies, observations and experiments. Once convinced about the truth, your duty is to spread the conviction as Hahnemann said in the preface of his masterly work of Materia Medica Pura-NOTA BENE FOR MY REVIEWERS-Repeat the experiment it cries aloud repeat them carefully and accurately, and you will find the doctrine confirmed at every step-and it does what no medical doctrine, no system of physic, no so called therapeutics ever did or could do .it insists upon being judged by the results. It is the mission of disciples to follow the MASTER. If you are convinced about Homoeopathy it is your duty to spread this science. Self realization of this eternal truth is the mission.