Patients Without Physicians: The New Risk of AIDS

It has often been remarked that "professionals" are those whose vocational objectives are to remove their own reason for existence. The dentist tries to eliminate dental caries; the physician attempts to wipe out disease. A profession can be distinguished by its altruistic goals: the educating of the young, the protection of the innocent, the healing of the sick, or the comforting of the soul. In fact, a "professional," unlike a person who chooses another career, is one who "professes," who takes an oath, a sacred vow...I swear by Apollo the physician. And there exists an indelible element of self-sacrifice surrounding anyone who aspires to one of the learned professions. It can be argued that students of medicine are not only well aware of the arduous hours ahead of them, but that this heroic life-style may be one of medicine's attractions. In particular, physicians understand that theirs is a profession