Aequanimitas

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Aequanimitas
Aequanimitas with Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine, 1914.
AuthorSir William Osler
LanguageEnglish
Publisher
  • P. Blakiston's Son & Co. (Philadelphia)
  • H. K. Lewis (London)
Publication date
1st 1889

Aequanimitas was one of Sir William Osler's most famous essays, delivered to new doctors in 1889 as his farewell address at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine, prior to his transfer to Johns Hopkins. It was published in the same year and in 1904 appeared in his collection of essays titled Aequanimitas with Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine. A second edition was produced in 1906, and a third in 1932. In the essay, Osler advocates two qualities "imperturbability" and "equanimity", which he defined as "coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances".[1]

Between 1932 and 1953, Eli Lilly & Company distributed more than 150,000 copies of the third edition to medical graduates.

Through the years Osler's ideal of "Aequanimitas" has been analysed by various academics. Daniel Sokol, medical ethics and law expert, reasons in the British Medical Journal in 2007, that whatever interpretation is made of Aequanimitas, it "tackles head-on a timeless question: what makes a good doctor?".[2][3]

Publication[edit]

The essay[edit]

Aequanimitas was an essay by Sir William Osler, delivered to new doctors on 1 May 1889 as his farewell address at the Pennsylvania School of Medicine.[2][4] It was published in the same year.[1]

Aequanimitas refers to staying calm and composed.[3][5] In the essay, Osler advocates two qualities "imperturbability" and "equanimity", which he defined as "coolness and presence of mind under all circumstances".[1]

1904 and 1906[edit]

In 1904, Aequanimitas was published by H. K. Lewis in Aequanimitas with Other Addresses to Medical Students, Nurses and Practitioners of Medicine, a collection of his essays.[1] A second edition was produced in 1906 by P. Blakiston's Son & Co. in Philadelphia,[6] and H.K. Lewis in London.[7]

Eli Lilly & Company[edit]

Following Osler's death, an expanded version of the book appeared as a third edition in 1932.[8][9] It omits the essays "A Way of life", "A man's redemption of man" and "The old humanities and new science", and became more widely available than the previous editions.[2]

Between 1932 and 1953, Eli Lilly & Company distributed more than 150,000 copies of the third edition to medical graduates.[8][10] These volumes were not all the same.[8] There were at least seven different publications in English and one in each of Spanish and Portuguese.[8] There were variations in the type of paper, book size, title page, information on the spine, and printing information.[8] There were also differences in the congratulatory letters from Eli Lilly, placed in each book.[8]

Interpretation[edit]

Through the years Osler's ideal of "Aequanimitas" has been criticised on the grounds that it excludes empathy, sympathy, or emotional resonance with patients.[2] One of the strongest critiques was presented by Gerald Weissmann in his book The Woods Hole Cantata (1985).[11] It had been published the previous year in Hospital Practice, as an essay entitled "Against Aequanimitas".[12] Weissmann's assessment of Osler led him to conclude that Osler's advice held "the public tone of the academic snob".[12] After reciting Osler's description of "imperturbability", Weissmann held the opinion that "the Oslerian view is not only devoid of passion, but [also] of joy".[12]

Osler however, did not that day in 1889 intend to give the graduating medical students comprehensive advice about how to practice medicine.[13] His involvement was a relatively small part of a busy commencement programme, in which the principal honoree was the retiring professor of surgery, David Hayes Agnew ("Agnew day").[2][13] Charles S. Bryan later explains that Osler deliberately confined his remarks to two of the qualities the students would need in practice. Osler emphasized the need to balance "head" and "heart".[14] In his interpretation the balance varies according to the nature of the task at hand and Aequanimitas is best understood as emotions appropriate to the circumstances rather than as indifference as suggested by the critiques.[14]

Daniel Sokol, medical ethics and law expert, reasons in the British Medical Journal in 2007, that whatever interpretation is made of Aequanimitas, it "tackles head-on a timeless question: what makes a good doctor?".[2][3]

Legacy[edit]

Japan's prime minister's physician, Shigeaki Hinohara, was given a copy of Aequanimitas in the early days of the United States Military Occupation of Japan after the Second World War. Hinohara subsequently translated the title address and paraphrased the rest. In 1948, he published a book entitled The Life of Dr. Osler—Pioneer of American Medicine.[15]

The term aequanimitas has become a motto.[16] At Johns Hopkins, it appears on ties and scarves worn by the housestaff,[16] and was mentioned in the television programme House.[16]

A similar concept to aequanimitas was addressed by Steve Jobs at Stanford University in 2005.[17] Daniel Goleman's notion of emotional intelligence has been described as a modern variation of aequanimitas.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Rodin, A. E. (December 1994). "William Osler and Aequanimitas: an appraisal of his reactions to adversity". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 87 (12): 758–763. PMC 1294989. PMID 7853305.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bryan, Charles S. (2020). "Aequanimitas". In Bryan, Charles S. (ed.). Sir William Osler; An Encyclopaedia. Novato, California: Norman Publishing in association with the American Osler Society. pp. 10–12. ISBN 978-0-930405-91-5.
  3. ^ a b c Sokol, Daniel (17 November 2007). "Aequanimitas". British Medical Journal. 335 (7628): 1049.2–1049. doi:10.1136/bmj.39385.642315.FA. PMC 2078638.
  4. ^ Pratt, Joseph H. (1 July 1949). "Aequanimitas". Archives of Internal Medicine. 84 (1): 86–92. doi:10.1001/archinte.1949.00230010096018. ISSN 0730-188X.
  5. ^ Landge. "Aequanimitas". www.j-pcs.org. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  6. ^ Osler, William (1906). Aequanimitas. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Son & Co. p. vi.
  7. ^ Osler, William (1914). Aequanimitas : with other addresses to medical students, nurses and practitioners of medicine. London: H. K. Lewis.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Kimbrough, R. C. (August 1995). "The good gift: a comparison of the Eli Lilly presentation copies of Aequanimitas". Journal of the South Carolina Medical Association (1975). 91 (8): 350–354. ISSN 0038-3139. PMID 7674636.
  9. ^ Greenberg, Stephen J. (April 2017). "History Matters: Whither Sir William?". Journal of the Medical Library Association. 105 (2).
  10. ^ Nation, Earl (2001). "Osler in Cushing and Bliss: Personal Notes of a Seasoned Oslerian". Bulletin of the History of Medicine. 75 (4): 756–759. ISSN 0007-5140. JSTOR 44446103.
  11. ^ Bliss, Michael (2002). William Osler: A Life in Medicine. University of Toronto Press. p. 556. ISBN 0-8020-4349-6.
  12. ^ a b c Bryan, Charles S. (2020). "Weissman, Gerald (b. 1930), Criticisms of William Osler". In Bryan, Charles S. (ed.). Sir William Osler; An Encyclopaedia. Novato, California: Norman Publishing in association with the American Osler Society. p. 825. ISBN 978-0-930405-91-5.
  13. ^ a b Kaiser, Larry R.; Morris, Jon B. (24 September 2020). "The University of Pennsylvania Medical School Commencement of 1889: Aequanimitas and the Agnew Clinic". Annals of Surgery. 274 (6): 1115–1122. doi:10.1097/SLA.0000000000004302. ISSN 0003-4932. PMID 32976282. S2CID 221937391.
  14. ^ a b Bryan, Charles S (2006). ""Aequanimitas" Redux: William Osler on detached concern versus humanistic empathy". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 49 (3): 384–392. doi:10.1353/pbm.2006.0038. ISSN 1529-8795. PMID 16960308. S2CID 9384307.
  15. ^ Hinohara, Shigeaki (1 September 1972). "Osler's Peregrinations in Asia—A Report on an Unusual Event". American Journal of Diseases of Children. 124 (3): 344–346. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1972.02110150042006. ISSN 0002-922X.
  16. ^ a b c Fisher, Kimberly A. "Aequanimitas". www.hopkinsmedicine.org. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  17. ^ a b Raheja, Dev (2019). "14. Aequanimitas: the best known strategy for safe care". Safer Hospital Care: Strategies for Continuous Quality Innovation (Second ed.). New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. pp. 147–158. ISBN 978-0-367-17848-2.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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