The Hippocratic Oath: Limitations

So far in our discussion of the covenants of the Hippocratic Oath we have covered honor and teaching.  An equally important covenant is that of limitations.  Please recognize that as with all the covenants, the function of both the doctor and patient is to care about the other guy and adhere to that treatment that provides for the best prognosis.

The Hippocratic Oath I swore states that I will in deep conscience and forever practice the profession of medicine in full awareness of my limitations of mind and body so that I will follow that method of treatment which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider best for the benefit of my patients.  That is a mouthful so let us simplify it.

Recognition of limitations means that I was trained properly to operate on patients with a style or method of high standards, with attention to detail, and with compassion and empathy for each patient I work with.  So, if I recognize my limitations and practice in that very narrow trajectory, the patient and I will both succeed in our missions.  I make a living, and the patients get over an illness.  My conscience remains steady, and my patient is benefited.  That is a winner.

Now what if I exceed my limitations with, for example, a new surgical technique that is being touted nowadays called bariatric surgery for weight loss. How many patients are truly benefited long term with a good quality of life? How many have complications? How many move on to the next gimmick such as a magic pill if this process fails? We simply don’t know.  Or on the other hand, what if I perform below my limitations and avoid operating on a patient with appendicitis? What if that patient perforates and dies of septic peritonitis? You can see that I will not exceed or underperform my limitations because my conscience will not allow me to breach any treatment that does not benefit my patients.  

Let us now look at Gov. Gavin Newsom and his Medi-Cal and evaluate limitations, and exactly why his healthcare program is in breach of the Hippocratic Oath.  To begin with, when I was threatened with ownership of my skills and judgment by Newsom and his predecessors, it was clear to me that the patients I was working with would be neglected and harmed  by his policies, and that I would be the enforcer of his evil policy.  That, along with the fact that I wasn’t being paid adequately is  why I quit operating on patients.  In no way would I tolerate his nonsensical malice, and neither would you.

To avoid operating on patients because Newsom wouldn’t have to pay out claims for services rendered is extremely selfish on his part. It is hurtful to the patient and the doctor and thus I refused to go along with it and left the craft I really enjoyed. For those physicians that remained as slaves, they became amoral robots and did what they were told to do. 

Should we blame the doctors for the breach? Should we blame Newsom for the breach?  Should we blame ourselves for the breach? After all, most Californians voted for Newsom!  

Newsom and his Medi-Cal bureaucrats are conniving snakes who lie, steal, and kill. When considering his limitations (not even being a physician), we can see that he is performing in an unrestricted fashion in his exercise of random, arbitrary, and tyrannical power. He is completely unbridled.

Consider the Hippocratic Oath as the “Constitution” of the doctor.  There are six laws, or covenants, that define the appropriate conduct or rules of treatment and prognosis. Call the covenants the “rule of law” exactly the way we consider the laws contained in our U.S. Constitution.  

When Newsom exceeded the limitations of his authority by seizing the skills and judgment of physicians, he breached his rightful function. The function of the government is not to interfere with trade between producers and consumers in any way.  It is to oversee the transactions between producers and consumers to protect the rights of both, and not to become a player in the trade interactions. But that is exactly what Newsom is doing. He is tyrannically stealing the money that is due to the physicians, he is endangering or literally killing the patients who are not receiving necessary and adequate treatment, and he is destroying the economy of California!  Not only that, but he is completely avoiding his balancing of California’s budget, which is the only other function that he is responsible for.   He’s in the deep red!  Newsom doesn’t care about you or me or our economy. He cares only about power and his addiction to it. He is a power addict, an addict without boundaries. And he will not stop until he is voted out of office and is replaced by a person who works for Californians and not himself, one who recognizes his or her boundaries and limitations.  

Now, let us ask the four basic questions that follow this definition of Newsom’s breach of limitations.

• Is medicine affordable?  
• Is medicine competent? 
• Is medicine satisfying? 
• Is medicine safe?

Thank you for your focused consideration of the matter of limitations because it is you who will decide the future history of the medical profession. And now, on to the covenant of availability.