Hello Coyote100~
The phrase ?physician, heal thyself? comes from the Bible (Luke 4:23).
To see the quote in context, visit Bible Gateway. Here it is in the
familiar King James version:
http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?passage=LUKE+4&language=english&version=KJV&showfn=on&showxref=on
and here it is in the modern language of The New American Standard Bible:
http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?passage=LUKE%2B4&showfn=on&showxref=on&language=english&version=NASB&x=18&y=11
From this passage, however, it?s clear that the phrase was common in
Jesus? time, and meant something like: ?Before you go around trying to
?fix? other people, you?d better fix yourself.?
In the context of medicine, the meaning is the same. As The New
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy puts it, the phrase means ?people
should take care of their own defects and not just correct the faults
of others.? (?Physician, Heal Thyself,? Bartley,
http://www.bartleby.com/59/1/physicianhea.html )
Sometimes the phrase refers to physical status. For example, in her
book ?Women?s Bodies, Women?s Wisdom,? author and M.D. Christiane
Northrup discusses a very bad infection she developed. Finally, she
sought the help of another physician.
?The surgeon told my husband, who is also a doctor, that the abscess
cavity under my breast was so large, it was penetrating into my chest
wall--the worst he'd seen in thirty years of practice?I had ignored
the age-old teaching ?Physician, heal thyself.? I was embarrassed that
I had not successfully treated myself as a doctor, that I had myself
become an ill person, a patient.? (?Physician Heal Thyself? by
Christiane Northrup, M.D., Spiritually Fit,
http://www.spirituallyfit.com/volume3/issue4/stories/christiane_northrup1.htm
)
In this context, the implication is that if the doctor is physically
ill, how can she successfully treat patients? She is no longer a
doctor, Northrip says, but a patient. In Northrip?s opinion, you can?t
be both.
Stephen Muse, Ph.D. and Joel O. Brende, M.D. give deeper meaning to the phrase:
??Physician Heal Thyself? is sage advice that should stand alongside
the Hippocratic Oath. Physicians who neglect balance in their lives
put themselves and their patients at risk. Loss of joy in the practice
of medicine or in their marriage and family life can begin to erode
effectiveness, trigger depression, alcohol and drug abuse, marital
infidelities, and other destructive consequences.? (?Physician, Heal
Thyself!? by Muse & Brende; you?ll find the link to this pdf file on
this page: http://www.humanehealthcare.com/vol3n2e/vol3n2.html )
In other words, if physicians neglect themselves (any part of
themselves), then they risk failing their patients. This is probably
the most common usage of the age-old phrase.
I hope this helps!
Kriswrite
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