Is medicine and treating patients a science or an art- this has long been debated over the years, and even today it holds true.
Voltaire so wisely said” The art of medicine is amusing the patient while nature cures the disease”
Time and again it is the experience of many physicians that while they are in the process of diagnosing, investigating and discussing treatment plans, the patient heals and flees home- away from it all!!!
The art of healing is practiced in several ways- the learning of the skills in first learning to talk to an ill person, while building their faith and confidence to be able to share their stories , doubts, concerns, hopes and fears.
The art of listening, the skill of selecting the relevant information from the not so relevant side stories, the putting together of the facts , the findings, the test reports and formulating the final diagnosis to start the treatment. The intertwining of the science woven with the threads of facts and figures to create the skill of bringing back to better health – is no less than painting a picture with the choicest of colors and a new story each time.!!
True that “wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity” Hippocrates
People in their variety of race, religion, culture, beliefs, faiths and lifestyles want cures that falls in line with many of these. The art of fine tuning of the style of care given that meets with the expectations of the patients and her family is not a science- only art in action!!!
Do doctors always have the answers?-
Do they know if their patient will recover or respond to a treatment???- No and learning to live with the many many uncertainties on the part of both the patient and the healer, emerges the role of life, god and nature, all which contribute to the final outcomes.
“Medicine is the science of uncertainty and the art of probability” William Osler
People have been falling sick from time the ancient times and healers have been healing since then. Progress in the name of science, newer drugs, research and trials no doubt constantly create new knowledge- but the skill of moving to a newer form of treatment or medication use still requires the caution and wisdom, so we do not cause more harm than benefit. This being the very basis of all medical practice, is the basic underlying guideline of all treatments.
Maintaining of patients on many many medicines is contrary to natural healing of the individual body that is always playing its part in the final result, and therefore striving to keep people on the most effective medicine, in the lowest dose and of the best price to suit the need is another art – not a science.!!
“The best art of medicine is to teach the patient not to need one.” Hippocrates
Surely it is the combined wish of all physicians and their patients to see their patients fly out and get back to their lives living it to the best in more forms than one!!
There is a difference between just existing and actually living and doing and enjoying what they do to their best capacity, with acceptance of what is possible and what is no longer feasible- is not science alone.
The most suitable effective care for humans of all ages, sizes, weights, gender and in different stages of their lives, is another skill to be attained artfully!
