IN MY SHOES: “The Oath I Follow As A Doctor Supersedes Presidential Decrees”
In an op-ed for USA Today, internist Marc Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, takes issue with President Barack Hussein Obama’s contention that doctors perform surgical procedures like tonsillectomies and amputations “just for the money”:
[A]t the risk of contradicting our president ... I am guided by egalitarian principles. I was taught in medical school and residency to treat all patients the same, regardless of income level, VIP status, their gender or the color of their skin. My obese patients receive the same level of care as my thin patients, my old patients the same as the my young. I distinguish only in terms of conditions or medical risks, not in terms of demographic entitlements.
I was trained to never give up hope in curing a patient until hope is truly lost. This is my religious and moral imperative; it requires no government oversight.
My principles run contrary to the idea of meeting with a 65-year-old to discuss specific ways I may withdraw care. Perhaps it's not a death panel, but a measure in one House bill pushes care in ways that cause me discomfort.
I don't receive moral guidance on how to practice medicine from presidential decree, but am led instead by the Oath of Maimonides.
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