Penn State College of Medicine’s Oath: A Vote For Democracy.

Posted on | November 2, 2024 | 2 Comments

Mike Magee

Two years ago, prior to the 2022 election, mental health experts alerted the medical world to their version of an assessment scale for yet another new condition – “doomscrolling.”

As defined in the article, “Constant exposure to negative news on social media and news feeds could take the form of ‘doomscrolling’ which is commonly defined as a habit of scrolling through social media and news feeds where users obsessively seek for depressing and negative information.”

As the distressing recent MSG Rally well broadcast, there apparently are no guard rails remaining in Trump-led “doom making.” But that does not mean that the majorities that oppose him have to fall victim as well.

Optimism is a choice and an effective political message. No one can deny a range of legitimate concerns. Faced with continued background noise from residual effects of the pandemic, we’ve been forced to absorb global warming induced weather disasters, renegade AI, sectional warfare around the globe, and the fact that (inexplicably) most elected Republican leaders have chosen to compromise all values and decency to preserve their jobs.

With real challenges like these, our troubled world needs to stay focused on values and resilience. This means aligning our humanity with our approach to self-governance. John J. Patrick PhD, in his book Understanding Democracy, lists the ideals of democracy to include “civility, honesty, charity, compassion, courage, loyalty, patriotism, and self restraint.”

We live under a constitutional and representative democracy, as do two-thirds of our fellow citizens in over 100 nations around the world. The health of these democracies varies widely. The case for democracy emphasizes its capacity to enhance dignity and self-worth, promote well-being, advance equal opportunity, protect equal rights, advance economic productivity, promote peace and order, resolve conflicts peacefully, hold rulers accountable, and achieve legitimacy through community based action.

One of the challenges of democracy is to find the right balance in pursuing “the common good” which has dual (and often competing) arms. One arm is communitarian well-being and the other, individual well-being. Blending personal and public interests is complex.

Both nursing and medicine have worked to bridge this gap through “professionalism,” and launched new graduates by voicing “oaths” or promises to themselves, their colleagues, and our society as a whole.

Louis Lasagna, MD‘s 1964 Oath included a communitarian connector: “I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.”

Nursing has also relied on professional Oaths. The first was the Nightingale Pledge, created in 1893 by the Farrand Training School for Nurses and named after Florence Nightingale. It is believed to be based on the Hippocratic Oath, and was modernized in 1935. In the 1950’s, the American Nurses Association (ANA), created a formal Code of Ethics, including Nursing’s 9 Provisions (or Pledges) committing to: compassion and respect, patient-focus, advocacy, active decision making, self-health, ethical environment, scholarly pursuit, collaborative teamwork, professional integrity and social justice.

The Penn State College of Medicine’s Oath in 2022 recognized that “We’re all in this together.” They gave top billing to the patient, with the oath to the patients, not to Greek gods: “By all that I hold highest, I promise my patients competence, integrity, candor, personal commitment to their best interest, compassion, and absolute discretion, and confidentiality within the law.”

As citizens and caregivers of our Democracy, in these final moments before the 2024 election, we can ill afford to go weak-kneed, and collapse into a pile of doomsayers. The vote is your’s.

As for me, I will cast my Presidential vote with the pledgers of Penn State College of Medicine for “competence, integrity, candor, personal commitment to their best interest, compassion, and absolute discretion, and confidentiality within the law.” I will vote for Kamala Harris.

Comments

2 Responses to “Penn State College of Medicine’s Oath: A Vote For Democracy.”

Lawrence Williams
November 3rd, 2024 @ 11:31 am

Hey Michael.
Many examples of beautiful oaths taken by highly educated professionals who for the most part are sincerely dedicated to caring for those in need of their skills. Oaths taken before they hit the “real world”, but must remain viable in a place where things like “most elected Republican leaders have chosen to compromise all values and decency to preserve their jobs.” now occur on a daily basis. And such things seem to be acceptable to millions of American voters, many of whom are poorly educated but still fully qualified to vote. Is this another example of the competitive “arms” of common good? I don’t know but I am fearful that the weight of these millions of votes tied to the juggernaut of evil that is the Trump campaign could conceivably win the presidency and destroy our system of government and replace it with some variety of Fascism with Donald Trump as the latter-day Benito Mussollini.
On the plus side I concur with your choice for our next president. And, I beat you by when I mailed my absentee ballot for VP Kamala Harris 2 weeks ago.
Always great to read your posts Michael. I guess all of the literary muses in Nelligan 317 and the top floor of Forey Hall went to your side of the rooms. Please give my best to Patricia, and to all of your progeny. Be well my friend.
Larry Williams
Mike Magee
November 4th, 2024 @ 7:52 am

Larry-
You have more than held your own in the “literary” Nelligan arms race. All blessings to you and your family! Mike