Medicine graduates should integrate their knowledge with economics, ethics and the rapidly expanding science and technology to become good doctors, Padma Vibhushan awardee cardiologist and former head of Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology M.V.S Valiathan has said.
Speaking at the Graduation Day celebrations of the Pinnamaneni-Siddhartha Medical College here on Tuesday, Dr. Valiathan, the brain behind the fourth Chitra-TTK mechanical heart valve, explained vividly about the ethical dilemmas the doctors had been facing in the twenty-first century.
Issues such as selection of patients for beds in the intensive care wards, selection of equipment and gadgets after going on “industry sponsored trips”, performing a double mastectomy (removing both the breasts) just on the basis of genes were the decisions deeply bound to medical ethics, he said. “Even while prescribing medicines, doctors go for the drugs what they think is the best rather than what the patient can afford,” he pointed out, highlighting the importance of economics.
Classical musicians often improvise while singing or playing an instrument, but they always used tanpura as a reference instrument, he said, adding: “In medical practice, ethics is the tanpura which keeps the practitioners on the track. Even a single deviation will result in discord.” Referring to the Hippocratic Oath, he said it was important, but it needed to be updated.
With the onset of the Renaissance Western medicine, when compared to other systems such as Arabic, Indian and Chinese, it had made giant leaps on the basis of “observation and experiment”. In 20{+t}{+h}century, technology, instrumentation or devices became the driving force of modern medicine.
Medical College Director General C.Nageswara Rao said Dr. Valiathan won the Dr Pinnamaneni-Smt. Sitadevi Award among many other laurels. Siddhartha Academy president N. Venkateswarlu, medical college principal P.S.N.Murthy spoke. Dr. Valiathan also inaugurated a new speciality ward with three operation theatres for organ transplantation.
In medical practice, ethics keeps the practitioners on the track. Even a single deviation will result in discord.
M.V.S Valiathan,Padma Vibhushan awardee cardiologist
Speaking at the Graduation Day celebrations of the Pinnamaneni-Siddhartha Medical College here on Tuesday, Dr. Valiathan, the brain behind the fourth Chitra-TTK mechanical heart valve, explained vividly about the ethical dilemmas the doctors had been facing in the twenty-first century.
Issues such as selection of patients for beds in the intensive care wards, selection of equipment and gadgets after going on “industry sponsored trips”, performing a double mastectomy (removing both the breasts) just on the basis of genes were the decisions deeply bound to medical ethics, he said. “Even while prescribing medicines, doctors go for the drugs what they think is the best rather than what the patient can afford,” he pointed out, highlighting the importance of economics.
Classical musicians often improvise while singing or playing an instrument, but they always used tanpura as a reference instrument, he said, adding: “In medical practice, ethics is the tanpura which keeps the practitioners on the track. Even a single deviation will result in discord.” Referring to the Hippocratic Oath, he said it was important, but it needed to be updated.
With the onset of the Renaissance Western medicine, when compared to other systems such as Arabic, Indian and Chinese, it had made giant leaps on the basis of “observation and experiment”. In 20th century, technology, instrumentation or devices became the driving force of modern medicine.
Medical College Director General C.Nageswara Rao said Dr. Valiathan won the Dr Pinnamaneni-Smt. Sitadevi Award among many other laurels. Siddhartha Academy president N. Venkateswarlu, medical college principal P.S.N.Murthy spoke. Dr. Valiathan also inaugurated a new speciality ward with three operation theatres for organ transplantation.
In medical practice, ethics keeps the practitioners on the track. Even a single deviation will result in discord.
M.V.S Valiathan,Padma Vibhushan awardee cardiologist
