“I am very abnormal... But it wasn't very long ago that I wasn't so abnormal. I was very normal and headed for a lifetime of paying medical bills as proof of my normalcy.”
Medicine sits at the intersection of science and humanity. These quotes come from doctors, patients, researchers, and caregivers who understand that healing involves more than just treating symptoms — it requires seeing the whole person.
“Whenever a doctor cannot do good, he must be kept from doing harm.”
“I am very abnormal... But it wasn't very long ago that I wasn't so abnormal. I was very normal and headed for a lifetime of paying medical bills as proof of my normalcy.”
“The doctor sees all the weakness of mankind the lawyer all the wickedness, the theologian all the stupidity.”
“I took anatomy classes. I went to medical libraries and talked to doctors and nutritionists. I did the whole thing before using myself as a human guinea pig.”
“It worries me about our unwillingness to really address reforms and modernization in Medicare. This thing was designed 37 years ago. It has not evolved to keep pace with current medical technology.”
“Many of us are alarmed at the skyrocketing cost of medical care, including patients, who are the consumers. However, medical malpractice is not the reason for these increasing costs.”
“A physician's physiology has much the same relation to his power of healing as a cleric's divinity has to his power of influencing conduct.”
“There are now over 5,000 medical physicists in the U.S more than 50 times the number in 1958.”
“A hospital bed is a parked taxi with the meter running.”
“As far as hypnosis is concerned, I had a very serious problem when I was in my twenties. I encountered a man who later became the president of the American Society of Medical Hypnosis. He couldn't hypnotize me.”
“All sorts of computer errors are now turning up. You'd be surprised to know the number of doctors who claim they are treating pregnant men.”
“Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.”
“If you're so pro-life, do me a favour: don't lock arms and block medical clinics. If you're so pro-life, lock arms and block cemeteries.”
“Medical debts are the number-one cause of bankruptcy in America.”
“I'm not feeling very well - I need a doctor immediately. Ring the nearest golf course.”
“Today, all patients accepted for treatment at St. Jude's are treated without regard for the family's ability to pay. Everything beyond what is covered by insurance is taken care of, and for those without insurance, all of the medical costs are absorbed by the hospital.”