The most significant and vulnerable times of our lives will likely be spent in the company of healthcare professionals, beginning with the moment of birth itself. Mewling and crying with limbs thrashing, the baby will not recognize those present at that crucial moment, but to his parents, their kindness and expertise will be all-important. Perhaps something similar is true at the end when we hope we will slip away with our loved ones reassured that all that was possible was done for the best. And there will be so many times in between those two poles when our health and thus what makes life worth living will depend on the knowledge and care of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals. With such solemn responsibilities, it is not surprising that medical ethics is an area that has received attention when certain sectors of the profession threatened industrial action to pressure the government into closing all border checkpoints with the mainland to lock out the coronavirus originating from Wuhan.

In a community, our behavior will affect others to a greater or lesser extent. In a world where much of the working life is spent tapping on a computer, this reality can be lost sight of, as calculations dishonestly done can lead to the collapse of a building or the impoverishment of thousands. Technology is, of course, part of medicine too, and today surgery may even be carried out by robots. All the same, the essential intimacy of this profession is always present. The doctor is dealing not with a case, but with a human being, a bundle of hopes and fears. That is why practicing medicine is regarded as a calling, with the equal sanctity of the priesthood.

The responsibility that this confers was addressed thousands of years ago in the document known as the Hippocratic Oath, which articulated a religious obligation on those who entered the medical profession. Among other things, it says: “I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrong-doing”, “Into whatsoever houses I enter, I will enter to help the sick” and “Now if I carry out this oath, and break it not, may I gain for ever reputation among all men for my life and for my art; but if I break it and forswear myself, may the opposite befall me”. The magnificence of these concepts has inspired self-sacrifice through the ages and, as we saw during the SARS epidemic of 2003, dedicated health professionals were willing even to lay down their lives in the service of their patients.

Technology is, of course, part of medicine too, and today surgery may even be carried out by robots. All the same, the essential intimacy of this profession is always present. The doctor is dealing not with a case, but with a human being, a bundle of hopes and fears. That is why practicing medicine is regarded as a calling, with the equal sanctity of the priesthood

It is small wonder, then, that doctors are normally highly respected figures, and there will be familial pride if one of their members has the ability to pass through the grueling training and become a physician dedicated to the welfare of his or her patients. This is certainly true in Hong Kong, where it is noteworthy how many of the top school students who achieve the highest scores in the DSE (Diploma of Secondary Education) examination and so on will express an ambition to enter medical school. All those in the medical profession deserve our gratitude, but perhaps in Hong Kong, we have a special appreciation for those who work in the Hospital Authority, whose employees don’t care about the wealth or social status of those whom they treat, only that they should get well. At an international level, our healthcare outcomes are enviable, and it is the Hospital Authority’s mission to spread the benefits equitably among those who could not afford the luxury of private medical care.

If we expect so much from our doctors, then they can reasonably ask for something in return as well, such as a decent salary. They should be able to feel that they are not so much doing a job as joining a family in which senior members of the profession will mentor and nurture them. In public hospitals, they are expected to work long hours, including night shifts, so they should be provided with adequate facilities for rest and food. Their job exposes them to danger, and they are entitled to priority for protective garments, and so on. Medicine is an art as well as a science, and there will often be honest disagreements within the profession on the best way to go forward, but in consideration of the long years of demanding study that took them to the position that they hold and the natural talent required for it, then doctors’ views and opinions, in matters of health and hygiene, deserve a sympathetic hearing.

A successful society is, if you will, founded on a series of contracts, the biggest being that citizens will obey laws that are drawn up for the benefit of all and then are fairly enforced. Within those parameters are a multitude of smaller “contracts” that, perhaps almost unconsciously, we use to regulate the way we live and to ensure that we can get along with each other. In the case of healthcare professionals, one side of the bargain is the matter of putting patients’ welfare above all else, and that is to be reciprocated by the community’s support for those to whom we owe so much and on whom we depend so greatly.

The author is a co-host of RTHK’s Backchat radio program and supporter of various welfare NGOs. She is a former assistant director of social welfare.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.