Post by Michele Roberts Finfrock

The Hippocratic Oath: An Ancient Text Still Relevant Today I remember being given my first white coat as a medical student. During this white coat ceremony, we took the Hippocratic Oath. It was a moment not to be taken lightly. The oath is a pledge to respect human life, to work for the benefit of the patient, and to abstain from doing harm. The oath recited today has been modified from the text of antiquity. While there is some debate as to its original author, it is widely attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates (460-375 BCE). There is evidence it was composed during the fourth century BCE. After the classical period, the oath seems to have fallen out of use until interest was rekindled during the Renaissance. The text was adapted for a new era and pledges to the ancient gods were removed. It seems to have become incorporated more into medical education during the 1700s. The oath continues to be adapted as times change. We no longer look to Apollo or Asclepius as muses of medicine. Modern surgery has advanced and we no longer pledge to abstain from surgical intervention. While over two millennia have passed since the original texts, there yet remain underlying principles in the original oath that are remarkably relevant today. It is still the most widely administered oath in medical schools (*in adapted form). The original text calls physicians to honor those on whose shoulders we stand, to do no harm or injustice to patients, to work for the benefit of the sick and to honor confidentiality of patients. It is good to give pause and reflect on principles that have remained relevant for 2400 years. Please see comments for credit given to a thoughtful article by Raphael Hulkower. #MedicalEthics #HistoryofMedicine #Hippocrates #MedicalEducation #HippocraticOath #MedicalEthics Artwork: Hippocrates: Medicine becomes Science (1952) by Robert Thom