Doctors in Rome were not nearly as practised or experienced as doctors from Greece. The Roman medics were considered to have a low social status that was on par with that of freedmen and slaves. This is proven when Cato the Elder said to his son, “I forbid you any communion with doctors!” Almost any Roman citizen could become a doctor, even without the correct qualifications, however, there were still some Roman medics, especially surgeons, that were highly respected. Because of the inexperienced doctors, the number of successful treatments were very low. It also meant that lots of Roman citizens had low health levels and could die from something as harmless as a cold or an infected wound. Roman medics were often present on a battlefield to provide immediate assistance to injured soldiers and the soldiers themselves were expected to have a basic medical knowledge. There were also some known cases of roman doctors being hired as assassins, poisoning and killing their patients instead of healing them, this however, was very rarely found. Female doctors did not exist in Rome; however, midwives were highly knowledgeable and skilled when it came to women’s health and giving birth. They helped provide high quality medical service to Roman women.
