Year: 2026 | Month: March | Volume: 13 | Issue: 3 | Pages: 414-422
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijrr.20260347
An Updated Perspective on the Medical Profession Through Mythological Health Figures: Narrative-Based Ethics Teaching in Medical Education
Hayriye Dilek Akdoğan1, Ali Çağlar Turgut2,3
1Department of Medical Education, İzmir Bakırçay University Faculty of Medicine, İzmir, Türkiye.
2Department of Histology and Embryology, Aydın Adnan Menderes University Health Sciences Institute, Aydin, Türkiye.
3Department of Radiology, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, İzmir, Türkiye.
Corresponding Author: Hayriye Dilek Akdoğan
ABSTRACT
Professionalism in the medical profession is a complex concept that encompasses not only knowledge and skill adequacy but also ethical values, attitudes, and professional identity formation processes. Instilling ethical medical values and professional identity formation in the process of becoming a “good physician” is crucial in medical education. In the modern era, “beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice” are generally defined as the four fundamental principles of medical ethics. However, modern medical values encompass both ethical and professional values from a broader perspective. This compilation of values aims to answer the question of whether the possibilities of narrative medicine, using mythological figures related to health throughout history, can be utilized in teaching and applying ethical and medical values in the modern era. To this end, modern medical and ethics principles have been paired with mythological archetypes related to health and healing throughout history, such as Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, Panacea, Telesphorus, and Isis, presenting a comprehensive framework that supports reflective learning and professional identity development for medical students and all physicians. We strongly believe that understanding the relationship between mythological figures and ethical and professional values will contribute to solving ethical problems for today's physicians and help maintain and strengthen their professional identity.
Keywords: Medical profession, mythological figures, ethical values, medical education, narrative medicine.
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