The Rhetoric of Medicine: Lessons on Professionalism from Ancient Greece

The Rhetoric of Medicine explores problems that confront medical professionals today by first examining similar problems that confronted physicians in ancient Greece. This framework provides illuminating entry points into challenges faced by the practice of medicine, enabling readers to understand more clearly their shape and operation in the modern context-as well as possible solutions to these problems. Topics covered include: larger cultural ideas about the body; tension between professional values and working for money; effective collaboration and competition with alternative healthcare providers; restrictions on political involvement that seem part of a physician's identity; maintaining a space for professional autonomy and judgment; mentoring that is effective but not exclusive; and physicians' recognition of themselves as patients as well as professionals. The Rhetoric of Medicine represents a unique collaboration between a classicist and a neurosurgeon, reflecting both their scholarly work and extensive experience as administrators. Together, these two experts combine their personal experience as professionals with careful analysis of what it means to be a medical professional, both in ancient Greece and today. The Rhetoric of Medicine is a call to interrogate the narratives and ideas that shape medical care and to revise and replace those that do not serve patient health. Advance Praise for The Rhetoric of Medicine "It is an incredibly rich story with lessons around money, competition and autonomy for doctors and for the patients they serve." -- Sanjay Gupta, MD, Staff Neurosurgeon, The Emory Clinic, Atlanta, GA, Chief Medical Correspondent, CNN