The Moral Precepts Embodied in the Hippocratic Oath, Which Physicians Standardly Affirm Upon Beginning Medical Practice.

Reading passage question

The moral precepts embodied in the Hippocratic oath, which physicians standardly affirm upon beginning medical practice, have long been considered the immutable bedrock of medical ethics, (5) binding physicians in a moral community that reaches across temporal, cultural, and national barriers. Until very recently the promises expressed in that oath—for

example to act primarily for the benefit and not the harm of patients and to conform to various standards (10) of professional conduct including the preservation of patients’ confidences—even seemed impervious to the powerful scientific and societal forces challenging it. Critics argue that the oath is outdated; its fixed moral rules, they say, are incompatible with more flexible (15) modern ideas about ethics. It also encourages doctors to adopt an authoritarian stance that depreciates the privacy and autonomy of the patient. Furthermore, its emphasis on the individual patient without regard for the wider social context frustrates the physician’s (20) emerging role as gatekeeper in managed care plans

and impedes competitive market forces, which, some critics believe, should determine the quality, price, and distribution of health care as they do those of other commodities. The oath is also faulted for its (25) omissions: its failure to mention such vital contemporary issues as human experimentation and the relationships of physicians to other health professionals. Some respected opponents even cite historical doubts about the earth's origin and (30) authorship, presenting evidence that it was formulated by a small group of reformist physicians in ancient Greece and that for centuries it was not uniformly accepted by medical practitioners.

This historical issue may be dismissed at the (35) outset as irrelevant to the oath’s current appropriateness. Regardless of the specific origin of its text—which, admittedly, is at best

uncertain—those in each generation who critically appraise its content and judge it to express valid (40) principles of medical ethics become, in a more meaningful sense, its authors. More importantly, even the more substantive, morally based arguments concerning contemporary values and newly relevant issues cannot negate the patients’ need for assurance (45) that physicians will pursue appropriate goals in treatment in accordance with generally acceptable standards of professionalism. To fulfil that need, the core value of beneficence—which does not actually conflict with most reformers’ purposes—should be (50) retained, with adaptations at the oath’s periphery by some combination of revision, supplementation, and modern interpretation. In fact, there is already a tradition of peripheral reinterpretation of traditional wording; for example, the oath’s vaguely and (55) archaically worded proscription against “cutting for the stone” may once have served to forbid surgery, but with today’s safer and more effective surgical techniques it is understood to function as a promise to practice within the confines of one’s expertise, (60) which remains a necessary safeguard for patients’ safety and well-being.

“The moral precepts embodied in the Hippocratic oath, which physicians standardly affirm upon beginning medical practice.”- is a GMAT reading comprehension passage with answers. Candidates need a strong knowledge of English GMAT reading comprehension.

This GMAT Reading Comprehension consists of 8 comprehension questions. The GMAT Reading Comprehension questions are designed for the purpose of testing candidates’ abilities in understanding, analysing, and applying information or concepts. Candidates can actively prepare with the help of GMAT Reading Comprehension Practice Questions.

Solution and Explanation

1. Which one of the following most accurately states the main point of the passage?

(A) The Hippocratic oath ought to be reevaluated carefully, with special regard to the role of the physician, to make certain that its fundamental moral rules still apply today.
(B) Despite recent criticisms of the Hippocratic oath, some version of it that will continue to assure patients of physicians’ professionalism and beneficent treatment ought to be retained.
(C) Codes of ethics developed for one society at a particular point in history may lose some specific application in later societies but can retain a useful fundamental moral purpose.
(D) Even the criticisms of the Hippocratic oath based on contemporary values and newly relevant medical issues cannot negate patients’ need for assurance.
(E) Modern ideas about ethics, especially medical ethics, obviate the need for and appropriateness of a single code of medical ethics like the Hippocratic oath.

2. Which one of the following most accurately describes the organisation of the material presented in the passage?

(A) A general principle is described, criticisms of the principle are made, and modifications of the principle are made in light of these criticisms.
(B) A set of criticisms is put forward, and possible replies to those criticisms are considered and dismissed.
(C) The history of a certain code of conduct is discussed, criticisms of the code are mentioned and partially endorsed, and the code is modified as a response.
(D) A general principle is formulated, a partial defence of that principle is presented, and criticisms of the principle are discussed and rejected.
(E) The tradition surrounding a certain code of conduct is discussed, criticisms of that code are mentioned, and a general defence of the code is presented.

3. The passage cites which one of the following as a value at the heart of the Hippocratic oath that should present no difficulty to most reformers?

(A) creation of a community of physicians from all eras, nations, and cultures
(B) constant improvement and advancement of medical science
(C) provision of medical care to all individuals regardless of ability to pay
(D) physician action for the benefit of patients
(E) observance of established moral rules even in the face of challenging societal forces

4. The author’s primary purpose in the passage is to

(A) affirm society’s continuing need for a code embodying certain principles
(B) chastise critics within the medical community who support reinterpretation of a code embodying certain principles
(C) argue that historical doubts about the origin of a certain code are irrelevant to its interpretation
(D) outline the pros and cons of revising a code embodying certain principles
(E) propose a revision of a code embodying certain principles that will increase the code’s applicability to modern times

5. Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that which one of the following sentences could most logically be added to the passage as a concluding sentence?

(A) The fact that such reinterpretations are so easy, however, suggests that our rejection of the historical issue was perhaps premature.
(B) Yet, where such piecemeal reinterpretation is not possible, revisions to even the core value of the oath may be necessary.
(C) It is thus simply a failure of the imagination, and not any changes in the medical profession or society in general, that has motivated critics of the Hippocratic oath.
(D) Because of this tradition of reinterpretation of the Hippocratic oath, therefore, modern ideas about medical ethics must be much more flexible than they have been in the past.
(E) Despite many new challenges facing the medical profession, therefore, there is no real need for wholesale revision of the Hippocratic oath.

6. Each of the following is mentioned in the passage as a criticism of the Hippocratic oath EXCEPT:

(A) The oath encourages authoritarianism on the part of physicians.
(B) The version of the oath in use today is not identical to the oath formulated in ancient Greece.
(C) The oath fails to address modern medical dilemmas that could not have been foreseen in ancient Greece.
(D) The oath’s absolutism is incompatible with contemporary views of morality.
(E) The south's emphasis on the individual patient is often not compatible with a market-driven medical industry.

7. Which one of the following can most accurately be used to describe the author’s attitude toward critics of the Hippocratic oath?

(A) enthusiastic support
(B) bemused dismissal
(C) reasoned disagreement
(D) strict neutrality
(E) guarded agreement

8. Which one of the following would be most suitable as a title for this passage if it were to appear as an editorial piece?

(A) “The Ancients versus the Moderns: Conflicting Ideas About Medical Ethics”
(B) “Hypocritical Oafs: Why ‘Managed Care’ Proponents are Seeking to Repeal an Ancient Code”
(C) “Genetic Fallacy in the Age of Gene-Splicing: Why the Origins of the Hippocratic Oath Don’t Matter”
(D) “The Dead Hand of Hippocrates: Breaking the Hold of Ancient Ideas on Modern Medicine”
(E) “Prescription for the Hippocratic Oath: Facelift or Major Surgery?”

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