Originally posted by Herzog_Zwei:
That's what makes the Hippocratic Oath Hippocritical...
*Opps, wrong spelling for Hippocratic Oath, correction executed.*
The hippocratic oath was very very outdated. Many therapies require harm before benefit.
A good example would be radio- or chemotherapy. The side effects are plenty, and even before the patient can acquire benefits, they have to suffer the side effects such nausea and vomitting, etc.
Almost no drugs in today's modern medicine has no adverse side effects. In fact, the whole focus is on making the patient's life better.
Hmm... so maybe we need to rethink the goal of a doctor. Is it to cure? When cure is impossible, should doctors try their best at reducing sufferings?