ABSTRACT
Emblazoned on the shield of The Johns Hopkins Department of Medicine is the word Aequanimitas. The term means “imperturbability,” and was regarded by Dr William Osler as the premier quality of a good physician. Aequanimitas was the subject of Osler’s address at the graduation ceremony at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1889, just before he moved to Johns Hopkins as its first chief of medicine. The virtue of aequanimitas suggests a general attitude of acceptance that is crucial to good medical practice. Steve Jobs, chairman and founder of Apple Computers, gave a remarkably personal and frank commencement address at Stanford University in June, 2005 on a concept similar to aequanimitas. While aequanimitas practices can differ, the essence does not. The essence is developing Osler’s outer self, which has to be compassionate for everyone around a caregiver.
