At commencement, every graduating medical student rises to recite the Hippocratic Oath, a timeless pledge to uphold ethical, compassionate and informed patient care.
This spring, one line resonated with particular clarity: “I do solemnly vow, to that which I value and hold most dear: that above all else I will serve the highest interests of my patients through the practice of my science and my art.”
No matter how the world around us changes, this ethos remains our true north: placing our patients’ well-being above all else through medicine rooted in science, and in relationships built on trust and empathy.
In times of uncertainty, I find deep reassurance in that enduring promise. And today, I hear in it a call to all of us in medicine to nurture the critical engagement health care requires by reinforcing why evidence matters.
At its essence, the practice of medicine means using the best available data, combined with clinical expertise, to promote health in alignment with each patient’s values and needs.
At academic medical centers like ours, where clinical reasoning, rigorous research and applied education are foundational, decades of work have yielded vast knowledge and countless advances in health care — from vaccines and antibiotics to artificial intelligence.
Patients have always been partners in this type of work, whether through their support of innovative research or through their involvement in clinical trials that advance breakthroughs and enhance and save lives. Much of the science that undergirds modern life was discovered and translated into practical applications through this collaboration and precious public trust.
While science informs our medicine, now more than ever we’re living in a time in which public trust in doctors and scientists has eroded, and beliefs sometimes clash with our data-driven approaches to treatment and prevention. Though we may be inclined to double down on our authority as a means of persuasion, we can be more effective by seeking to understand the beliefs that run counter to evidence.
This means sharing what we know — and then listening to the response. We can reinforce our knowledge, the tried-and-true methods we’ve developed over decades to make and apply discoveries, and then approach our patients with curiosity and compassion. In doing so, we can build the trust that enables us to provide the best health care, conduct gold-standard research, and train new generations of physicians who strive for knowledge and excellence.
And importantly, we can continue the vital partnership with our patients that makes our art of medicine so impactful.
Robert A. Harrington, M.D.
Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean, Weill Cornell Medicine
Provost for Medical Affairs, Cornell University
Portrait: Sam Kerr
