Do No Harm

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"Knowing how to instill love and harmony in these hostile elements in the body, our ancestor Asklepios established this healing art of ours." - Plato's Symposium

My chosen practice domain involves the art and science of making a medical diagnosis. My problem area focuses on the historical and cultural influences on physician and patient communication, and how this affects the physician's gaze and listening ability.

In these pages, I investigate how ancient Greek culture came to influence the diagnostic process used today. These reflections begin with medicine's roots in Greek mythology and the Cult of Asklepios. A central question emerged in my quest for knowledge and guides my reasoning. How might have earlier ideas, practices, and artifacts - such as found in the cult of Asklepios - influence western medical diagnosis and treatment plans?

Ideas	Religious and Medical Ideas: How did Cult of Asklepios evolve? How does culture influence a medial diagnosis and treatment protocol? How can a cultural construct be used to treat patients?
Practices	Philosophy and Scientific Investigation: What were the ancient medical rituals related to making a diagnosis? How did Hypocrites influence medicine? How has today's culture effected the interpretation of Hippocratic Oath?
Artifacts	Tools and Outcomes: What does the Asklepieion staff symbolize? What are Votives? What do Votives reveal medically?

John Dalzell was a Ph.D. candidate in the Educational Communication and Technology Program with scholarly interests in distance education and medicine.