Published in:
01-11-2007 | Invited Commentary
Ethics of Surgical Training in Developing Countries
Author:
Moshe Schein
Published in:
World Journal of Surgery
|
Issue 11/2007
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Excerpt
“He who wishes to be a surgeon should go to war,” stated Hippocrates some 400 years BC. Hippocrates was of course right and throughout history, and even today, surgeons go to regions of war, disasters, chaos—any place where “life is cheap”—mainly and allegedly to help but often also to acquire experience. Naturally, any act of volunteerism—surgical volunteerism included—is driven by a combination of altruistic and egoistic motives: “I am going to suffer, work hard, perhaps risk my life, but I will learn, gain confidence and have fun.” …