In his address before the American College of Surgeons last October, the new president of the college, Robert M. Zollinger, commanded attention with a provocative discussion of "Surgical Tithing." Speaking on the responsibilities of surgeons, he said:
... I would like to suggest an approach called "surgical tithing." I introduce this concept in the hope that you can plan your daily routine so that you will be more productive and achieve more satisfaction in your profession. The concept of tithing, as you know, has stood the test of more than 30 centuries. The term has been used to indicate a gift of a tenth part of all worldly income to the church....
The Pharisees were commended for tithing their worldly goods but condemned for leaving undone more important matters. We, too, have been commended for our surgical advances, but we also have been condemned for not really coming to grips with