Wisdom of Medical Aphorisms Save

The American Journal of Medicine  and Dr. Joseph S. Alpert have published a long list of smart, insightful and inspirational aphorisms from some of the greatest leaders in internal medicine – this includes famed giants, Eugene A. Stead, Jr., Francis W. Peabody, Paul Beeson, Tinsley Harrison, Philip Tumulty, Lewis Thomas, Walter Bauer, Eugene Braunwald, and Joseph Alpert (author of the collection). These aphorisms are timeless and should be passed from one generation of physicians to the next.

Below are several of my favorites. Check out the two articles from which these come!

Eugene A. Stead, Jr., MD (1908–2005) - long-time chair of the Department of Medicine at Duke University, was an iconoclastic educator and clinician. He is perhaps best known for founding the physician assistant profession.

• “Most patients recover in spite of what we do, not because of what we do.”
• “When in doubt, do less.”
• “A physician can’t learn much from success. You learn from your mistakes.”
• “Medicine is too complex to be learned all at once. It must be learned again and again.”

Francis W. Peabody, MD (1881–1927) - a Harvard physician and gifted teacher, left behind a remarkably rich legacy despite his untimely death at age 46. His 1927 address, "The Care of the Patient," is one of the most quoted essays in American medical literature.

• “The secret of the care of the patient is in caring for the patient.”
• “What is spoken of as a clinical picture is not just a photograph of a sick man in bed; it is an impressionistic painting... surrounded by his home, his work, his relations, his joys, sorrows, hopes, and fears.”
• “Medicine is not a trade to be learned but a profession to be entered.”
• “There is no more contradiction between the science of medicine and the art of medicine than between the science of aeronautics and the art of flying.”

Paul Beeson, MD (1908–2006) - Beeson was professor and chair of medicine at Emory, Yale, and Oxford, and later served as editor of the Cecil-Loeb Textbook of Medicine.

• “There is no greater reward in our profession than to have the opportunity to teach.”
• “Medicine is best learned one patient at a time.”
• “What this profession needs is not more specialists, but more generalists who care deeply.”

Tinsley R. Harrison, MD (1900–1978) - Chief of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and founding editor of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine.

• “No greater opportunity or obligation can fall the lot of a human being than to be a physician... He who uses these with courage, humility and wisdom will provide a unique service to his fellow man and will build an enduring edifice of character within himself.”
• “I am not here to teach you facts. If I wanted you to know facts, I would tell you to read my book. I am here to teach you how to think.”

Philip A. Tumulty, MD (1906–1989)- A master clinician and educator at Johns Hopkins, Tumulty carried forward the Oslerian tradition of bedside medicine.

• “It is better to be an intuitive physician than a rational fool.”
• “A physician who treats himself has a fool for a patient.”
• “Beware of the patient with many x-rays and few symptoms.”
• “Never let a test result substitute for your clinical judgment.”

Lewis Thomas, MD (1913–1993) - Dean, essayist, and immunologist, Thomas wrote about science with philosophical depth and literary skill.

• “The great secret of doctors... is that most things get better by themselves.
• “The dilemma of modern medicine... is the irresistible drive to do something, anything... in the face of ignorance.”
• “Science is founded on uncertainty. Each time we learn something new and surprising, the astonishment comes with the realization that we were wrong before.”

Walter Bauer, MD (1898–1960) - Often credited as a founder of rheumatology and long-time Chief of Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Bauer brought humor and caution to clinical thinking.

• “Be careful about reading medical books. You may die of a misprint.”

Eugene Braunwald, MD (b. 1929) - A towering figure in cardiology and editor of Braunwald’s Heart Disease, Braunwald’s career spans basic science, clinical trials, and medical education.

• “The greatest mistake in medicine is to treat the diagnosis rather than the patient.”
• “We are privileged to work in a field where what we do today can be better than what we did yesterday—and not as good as what we will do tomorrow.”
• “We’ve gone from an era of descriptive cardiology to one of mechanistic understanding and now to targeted therapies. This is nothing short of a revolution.”

Joseph S. Alpert, MD

• “I always tell our students that the number one most important thing a physician can do is to care—really care—about the patient.”
• “Every good clinical encounter begins with sitting down.”
• “The real art of medicine is knowing when not to do something.”
• “When you find yourself ordering too many tests, it usually means you haven’t spent enough time with the patient.”
• “Being a doctor is about stories—about listening to them, understanding them, and sometimes helping to change their ending.”

The Wisdom of Medical Aphorisms, Part 1

The Wisdom of Medical Aphorisms, Part 2