The Healer's Hand

CONCERN for one's fellowman has been characteristic of physicians for centuries. Until the last century, one could argue that this characteristic was, in fact, most of what a physician had to offer among his healing skills. Many older physicians today remember well medicine in the pre-antibiotic era, when one had little choice but to sit by the bedside of a patient with pneumonia, hold the patient's hand, and be present with the family until the fever had broken or the patient had died. For the patient with congestive heart failure, one could do little more than administer digitalis leaf and hope that such a crudely prepared drug would be of help to the patient. But those physicians were not faulted because of their limitations. Their concern and willingness to care for their patients were greatly appreciated and even revered by the persons for whom they cared.

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