NZ Doctor’s petition to change the Declaration of Geneva
Media Release from MedWorld
Thursday 6th October 2016
New Zealand Doctor’s petition to change the Declaration of Geneva
A petition signed by almost 4,000 doctors asking for changes to be made to the Declaration of Geneva (the Physician’s Oath) will be put before the World Medical Association at the General Assembly in Taipei, 19th - 22nd October 2016. The petition was started by Dr Sam Hazledine’s doctor recruitment agency MedRecruit, in a bid to encourage doctors to take care of themselves to help them care for their patients.
The Declaration of Geneva (initially started 68-years ago) is pledged by doctors upon joining the profession and states that, “The health of my patient will be my first consideration.” However, the declaration neglects to say that doctors should look after themselves. With an increasing number of doctors across the world voicing concerns about long working hours and high stress levels, many organisations are raising concerns about how this affects the health of everybody in our community.
MedWorld's petition (http://www.medworld.org/petition) has gathered almost 4000 signatures over the last few months and has attracted the attention of Dr Stephen Childs, Chair of the NZMA board. Dr Childs has agreed to take the petition to the World Medical Association General Assembly in Taipei later this month.
Doctor recruitment agency MedRecruit was started by Dr Hazledine 10 years ago in response to his belief that better lifestyles create better doctors and that exceptional doctors can change the world. It offers doctors the opportunity to work in different locations and experience different lifestyles and learning opportunities. The business has been hailed as a success story; in 2007 Dr Hazledine was a finalist in the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, and the company was recognised as a Deloitte Fast 50, Fastest Growing Service Business in 2009.
In 2015, Dr Hazledine launched MedRecruit’s sister company MedWorld to raise awareness and support doctors’ wellbeing. In recent research by AAOS (American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons) 87% of doctors said they were stressed and more than half said that in hindsight, they'd not choose to become a doctor. The MedWorld programme focuses on trying to change this pattern by offering tools and a support network for doctors.
“The Declaration of Geneva asks us to ‘do no harm’ but the way we’re living is harming our patients,” said Dr Hazledine.
“It’s a great ideal, but it’s not comprehensive. Sacrificing yourself, your own health, is not best for your patients. There’s more and more research showing that stressed and overworked doctors are more likely to suffer burn out and make mistakes, this culture of overworking doctors actually affects everybody in our community.
“I stared the petition asking for support to make a key change in the Declaration, to ask that doctors take care of their own health too. If this change is made, it’ll have a positive impact on not only the health of doctors, but also of patients around the globe.”
ENDS