Reprinted from the fall 2018 issue of The Ohio Family Physician.
In May, I graduated from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. At the last Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC) conference, I had learned about a trip to Greece, which conveniently took place after my medical school graduation and before my residency orientation. Before I started a three-year residency at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, CA, I decided to join the FMEC on their trip to Greece, the birthplace and home of the “Father of Medicine,” Hippocrates.
As a solo traveler, I was excited to meet other physicians on the trip along with getting to know their families. As the youngest physician on the trip, I experienced an 11-day adventure where I learned about the history of western medicine in Greek antiquity. When we arrived in Athens, we were greeted with a warm welcome reception and dinner. It was a great opportunity to get to know one another and relax from a long day of travel.
Nikitas Zervanos, MD, a retired family physician and a past program director at Lancaster General in Pennsylvania, is a Greek-American from the island of Kos who planned this trip as well as two other similar trips in 1985 and 2002 with the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.
With the encouragement from Douglas Spotts, MD, and Larry Bauer, MSW, Med, Dr. Zervanos decided to plan this trip once more for the FMEC. Coincidentally at the reception, I was introduced to Joseph E. Scherger, MD, MPH, who was assigned to be my residency advisor, and who also serves as the vice president for primary care and chair of academic affairs at Eisenhower Health.
Not many people can say they’ve had an 11-day advising session and trip with their advisor right before they’ve started residency. After our first night in Athens, we headed to the port of Piraeus to embark on a four-day cruise of the Aegean Sea with stops at the Greek islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, and Patmos, as well as the Turkish island of Kusadadsi/Ephesus.
We participated in daily excursions, which included very knowledgeable and enthusiastic tour guides. These excursions were also eligible for continuing medical education credit, with the lectures providing information about the history of medicine and ancient Greece.
Upon returning to Athens, we had two more days of mainland tours and explored Athens by shopping at Plaka and Monastiraki, experiencing the Parthenon atop of the Acropolis, and witnessing the new Acropolis Museum. There were so many remarkable moments on this trip, but the highlight for me was our time spent on the island of Kos (the birthplace of Hippocrates).
Upon arrival, we received a tour of the museum dedicated to Hippocrates and his life’s work as a physician. As a recently graduated medical student, I admired how advanced his work was for his time. Even to this day, we still use many of his techniques and philosophies in the United States. I really enjoyed seeing the replica of his pharmacy that was created for visitors to view. According to the professor providing the lecture on our tour, the word “pharmacy” comes from the Greek word “pharmakeia,” which means poison.
On display, there were jars full of live plants and other substances that Hippocrates would have used as medicine during his time. The professor explained that the plants seen were mostly used for acute care, because food and exercise were the preferred treatments for any chronic condition.
To this day, Hippocrates is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the history of medicine. He saw patients of all genders and ages, with every medical condition one can imagine. After we saw the museum, we had a meeting with a representative of the Hippocratic Society in Kos. In honor of our trip, they organized a reenactment ceremony of the Hippocratic Oath, in both ancient Greek and English. In one voice, we all repeated the oath on the steps of the famous Temple of Asclepios.
In Greek mythology, Asclepios was a demi-god and the son of Apollo who had many temples created and dedicated to healing others in his memory. The week prior, we actually visited one of those temples in Epidaurus as well as one in the south of the Acropolis in Athens. The one in Kos, where we had our ceremony, was actually where Hippocrates theoretically received his medical training.
A month prior to this trip, I read the Hippocratic Oath at my own medical school graduation. Now, on the island of Kos, I was able to hear the original oath in ancient Greek and English with some of the most amazing family physicians I have ever met who I now consider friends and mentors. As a new physician in-training, I will cherish this memory for the rest of my life.
I am so inspired by the work of the physicians before me (especially Hippocrates), and this trip to Greece which marks a newfound celebration and educational experience in my family medicine journey. I am forever grateful to Dr. Zervanos and everyone at the FMEC for planning this trip, and for giving me the opportunity to join them. I could not have imagined a better way to celebrate both graduating from medical school, and now starting my residency training as a family physician.