Abstract
The history of medicine and of humanity contains a long list of exceptional physicians who devoted their lives to alleviating human suffering, often in dismal conditions, at risk to their own health and life. However, these outstanding personalities should not be taken as a model towards whom every physician should strive. For most physicians, their profession is much more than just a job; yet, they do not wish to be deprived of their private lives. Indeed, family with its pleasures and obligations, culture, sports, or any other interests are vital to counterbalance the stress of medical profession and prevent or mitigate burnout. In concluding this chapter, comments are offered on some problematic topics: physicians who share their work between public institutions and a private practice; physicians who perform scientifically unproven treatment; and medical strikes as a method to press for economic and other interests of the medical profession.
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Notes
- 1.
Dr. Albert Schweitzer: French-German theologist and physician, the founder of the hospital in Gabon, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
- 2.
Dr. Franja Bidovec: physician who worked at the Franja Partisan Hospital which was set up in a hidden gorge near Cerkno, Slovenia. See also the seminar “Franja Partisan Hospital.”
- 3.
Dr. Magomed Gadžijev: surgeon from Dagestan, the founder of the Zalesje Partisan Hospital.
- 4.
Dr. Catherine Hamlin: gynecologist from Australia who founded a hospital for treatment of birth traumas. See also the student seminar paper on “Catherine Hamlin.”
- 5.
Dr. Lev Milčinski: Slovenian psychiatrist and university lecturer.
- 6.
Franja Partisan Hospital: a secret World War II hospital near Cerkno in western Slovenia. It was run by the Slovene Partisans from December 1943 until the end of the war as part of a broadly organized resistance movement against the Fascist and Nazi occupying forces. The wounded being treated there were soldiers from both the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers. Although the occupying Wehrmacht forces launched several attempts to find the hospital, it was never discovered. Today it exists as a museum. It has been protected as a cultural monument of European significance.
- 7.
Vesna Milek: Slovenian writer and journalist.
- 8.
Dr. Franc Rode: Slovenian archbishop and cardinal.
- 9.
Pedro Opeka: Slovenian missionary, born in Argentina. He was nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for his work on improving living conditions in Madagascar.
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Zwitter, M. (2019). Image of a Physician. In: Medical Ethics in Clinical Practice. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00719-5_11
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