1. “The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”
– Sir William Osler
Still the gold standard. Every time you get lost in lab values and protocols, remember there’s a person behind that diagnosis.
2. “Wherever the art of Medicine is loved, there is also a love of Humanity.”
– Hippocrates
Over 2,000 years later and still true. If you’re only in it for the science, you’re missing half the job.
3. “Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.”
– William Osler again (the man had bars)
Useful to remember when patients don’t fit the textbook, or when outcomes surprise you.
4. “Listen to your patient; he is telling you the diagnosis.”
– Sir William Osler (yes, again)
He basically invented bedside teaching. Clinical skills > AI tools and MRIs half the time.
5. “First do no harm.”
– Not in the original Hippocratic Oath, but widely attributed to it
It’s more relevant today with all the interventions and investigations we order. Sometimes doing less is smarter.