Photo by Piron Guillaume
Dee Bostic’s own Love Lies & Lab Coats is but her first book about a group of devoted doctors. It’s not every day you can find a book that tries to capture the emotional and interpersonal depth that’s usually found in today’s medical dramas.
Still, that doesn’t mean that intriguing stories about doctors are an entirely new thing. In fact, the whole genre of medical drama is just the modern descendant of many older stories.
Most people don’t realize this, but that’s in part due to how people perceive modern doctors.
Today’s doctors are often seen as highly educated, science-oriented and cutting edge. Likewise, plenty of medical dramas employ technical jargon and depict their profession as extremely demanding in terms of specialized knowledge and critical thinking.
It doesn’t take into consideration the fact that the field of medicine has existed for centuries even when it was not as advanced or even scientifically accurate. A doctor who lived during ancient Greece or medieval Italy was nonetheless a doctor who knew the best knowledge at that particular point in history.
And thus, many stories, legend and myths involving them are still forms of medical fiction in their own right. Here’s a quick trip through time that shows a couple of notable examples.
Good Doctors in Antiquity
Photo by Anne Nygård
Most people today would see a rod intertwined with snakes as just another typical symbol for doctors. However, this very same symbol dates all the way back to when people genuinely believed that mythical gods of healing were the forces that could cure people of disease.
Yet while this was simply due to the limits of scientific research at the time, this was the closest they could get to science for their time
Hence, heroic figures like Asclepius and Chiron will always be considered doctors within the context of both their myths and the society that spread them. The asclepieion of Ancient Greece were not just merely places of worship and ceremony. They were often centers of medical research, with records of studies and large conferences among medical practitioners. The rituals in these places also emphasized frequent bathing and restful sleep, both still considered important activities for good health today. Hippocrates, the much hailed Father of Medicine, was said to have begun his early work in one of these temples.
And while the stories of Asclepius himself may seem fantastical and farfetched, their thematic focus on healing ailments as well as his use of herbs and other symbols of medicine are enough to mark him as the medical drama doctor of the ancient world. Same goes for other stories about doctors, healers and physicians across other mythologies.
Philosophers, Alchemists and Herbalists Oh My!
Photo by Evgeniy Smersh
When one thinks of alchemy, the images that come up are usually quack cures, wizards, weird potions and all other outdated medieval ideas.
Historically, however, alchemy is the progenitor of today’s chemistry.
This has to do with a tricky historical fact about higher education between today and back in the Middle Ages. Contrary to popular notions, these periods were not wholly periods of illiterate peasantry lorded over by fanatical clergy and greedy lords.
The reality was far more complicated. This was the period that followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire, setting off a chain of events that altered the ways most people (including physicians) could advance their education. Yet in many other ways, it shared similar career trajectories with physicians in antiquity. Back then, a person who wanted to pursue medicine was also likely to be pursuing philosophy, which in turn included both studying metaphysics as well as physical and natural sciences.
Education during the Middle Ages more or less piled on top of that, adding theology as well as further exchanges of ideas with the Islamic world. This would eventually have a significant impact on the multiple renaissance eras that would educate the many doctors of those periods. So as a result, many stories about doctors here are also stories about herbalists, clerics and explorers.
One notable example is Paracelsus, who is hailed as the Father of Toxicology as well as a name that still invokes medieval legends about alchemy. His education happened at a time when the leading scholars of the day were obsessed with unearthing both the scientific ideas proposed during antiquity as well as ideas from closely studying the natural world with what limited tools of observation that could be had.
Thus, it’s not surprising that this resulted in one of the best biochemists and doctors from the German Renaissance still appearing as a strange philosopher and alchemist in modern eyes.
What Will Our Doctors Look Like From the Future?
At this point, it doesn’t hurt to ask: What will our doctors look like to the ones in future generations?
Photo by Bermix Studio
It’s likely that they too could be one day seen as both admirable yet also antiquated. Because despite present-day medicine’s own advances, it has its own share of experimental ideas that have yet to truly pass scrutiny. Some could be seen as revolutionary while others could be seen as odd and absurd as today’s doctors see myth and magic.
This reality is not lost in medical dramas or in fiction featuring the diverse range of medical professionals. Many not only tackle the challenges posed by emerging technologies but also the problems of modern healthcare systems and their excesses.
Yet one thing is certain: There will certainly be more stories about doctors to tell!
Book about a group of devoted doctors – Dee Bostic
isn’t shy about using her medical stories to highlight the great many troubles in American healthcare. Check it out for yourself in Love, Lies & Lab Coats. Its first two volumes are already on Amazon!
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- Loving After Loss: A Widow’s Quick Guide on Loving Again - November 11, 2024
- The Power of Forgiveness: Healing Yourself and Others - October 10, 2024
whether it’s real or not, doctors are real-life heroes that deserve their stories to be heard.