Medical practice demands more from the doctor than the accumulated knowledge and technical skills handed down from the past. One who is a Christian will wish to be guided, in his or her personal relations and attitude to work, by the
ethical teaching of Christ as recorded in
the Bible. Central in this stands his unequivocal and far-reaching summary of the Moral Law.
'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength . . . and love your neighbour as yourself'Mark 12:30, 31
Some implications of this principle for the doctor are outlined in the following affirmation. No Christian, however, can hope to meet such a standard except on the basis of their redemption and reconciliation to God in Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit in their daily life.
A Christian affirmation
We are accountable to God in all we do and, therefore, we shall endeavour to conduct our private and professional lives in accordance with the standards of Christ:
In relation to human life
- To acknowledge that God is the Creator, the Sustainer and the Lord of all life.
- To recognise that man is unique, being made in the 'image of God', and that he cannot be healthy in body and mind unless he lives in harmony with the natural world around him, which he neither ignores nor exploits.
- To promote a sense of vocation in the work by which men serve one another, and to honour and recommend the Creator's rule of one day's rest in seven.
- To maintain the deepest respect for individual human life from its beginning to its end, including the unborn, the helpless, the handicapped and those advanced in age.
- To uphold marriage as a lasting bond, being the divinely appointed means for the care of children, the security of the family and the stability of society.
- To recognise that sexual intercourse is intended by God only for the marriage relationship and hence to advocate premarital continence and marital fidelity.
In relation to patients
- To give effective service to those seeking our medical care irrespective of age, race, creed, politics, social status or the circumstances which may have contributed to their illness.
- To serve each patient according to his need, subordinating personal gain to the interest of the patient and declining to take part in collective action which would harm him.
- To respect the privacy, opinion and personal feelings of the patient and to safeguard his confidences.
- To speak truth to the patient, as he is able to accept it, bearing in mind our own fallibility.
- To do no harm to the patient, using only those drugs and procedures which we believe will be of benefit to him.
- To maintain as a principle that the doctor's first duty is to his or her patient, whilst fully accepting our duty to promote preventive medicine and public health.
- To deal honestly with our professional and administrative colleagues and to fulfil those just requirements of the State, which do not conflict with these basic ethical standards.
- To work constructively with colleagues in scientific research and in training doctors, nurses and paramedical workers, for the benefit of individual patients and the advance of health care throughout the world.
Heavenly Father, we thank you that through your Son, our Saviour, we receive new life and hope. Lead us by your Spirit in our work today. Enable us to fulfil our medical calling in love, wisdom and integrity. Give us knowledge and diligence in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. Help us to bring comfort to the anxious and sorrowing. Free us from selfish ambition. Grant us sincerity in all that we say and do. Strengthen us to persevere in the face of
fatigue. Keep us always mindful of your redeeming purpose and maintain our confidence that death will finally be overcome through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
