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What is Charak Shapath?
The Dean of Madurai Medical College was removed after a batch of new students were administered an oath in Sanskrit attributed to the ancient Indian sage Maharshi Charaka instead of the traditional Hippocratic Oath in English.
What is the controversy over the Charak Shapath?
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National Medical Commission (NMC) suggested to medical colleges that the Hippocratic Oath should be replaced by a “Charak Shapath”.
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The NMC also issued a circular on the Implementation of new Competency-Based Medical Education for Undergraduate Course curricula.
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It said that modified Maharshi Charak Shapath is recommended when a candidate is introduced to medical education.
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Hippocratic Oath
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It is an oath of ethics historically taken by physicians.
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It is attributed to Hippocrates of the island of Kos.
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It is one of the most widely known Greek medical texts.
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In its original form, it requires a new physician to swear, by several healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards.
Hippocrates
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Hippocrates of Kos is also known as Hippocrates II.
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He was a Greek physician of the classical period.
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He is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of medicine.
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He is traditionally referred to as the "Father of Medicine" in recognition of his lasting contributions to the field, such as the use of prognosis and clinical observation, the systematic categorization of diseases, and the formulation of the humoral theory.
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He is also credited with greatly advancing the systematic study of clinical medicine, summing up the medical knowledge of previous schools, and prescribing practices for physicians through the Hippocratic Corpus and other works.
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He is credited with being the first person to believe that diseases were caused naturally, not because of superstition and Gods.
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He was credited by the disciples of Pythagoras with allying with philosophy and medicine.
Charaka oath
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It is a set of instructions by a teacher to prospective students of medicine.
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It states that individuals eager to learn the science of medicine must unconditionally agree to abide by its instructions.
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It explains the necessity of practicing asceticism during student life, student-teacher relationship, the importance of devoting oneself fully and completely to the well-being of the patient, whom to treat, how to behave with women, and several other related issues.
Charak
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He is considered the father of ancient Indian science of medicine.
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He was the Raj Vaidya (royal doctor) in the court of Kanishka.
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He wrote Charak Samhita.
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He was the first to talk about digestion, metabolism, and immunity as important for health and so medical science.
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He also knew the fundamentals of Genetics.
International code of medical ethics
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It was adopted by the World Medical Association in 1949, which was amended in 1968, 1983, and 2006.
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WMA published a proposed modernized version of the international code.
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It outlined physicians’ duties towards their patients, other physicians, health professionals, and society as a whole.
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