Medical Oath Taken by Doctors

Doctors traditionally take the Hippocratic Oath upon graduation from medical school. The original version is believed to have been written during the 4th century B.C. and is commonly attributed to the Greek physician Hippocrates of Cos. While it has been updated over the years, its general principles have remained the same, continuing to provide the foundation of medical ethics.

Original Version

The original version of the oath, as Hippocrates is believed to have written it, spells out several ethical bases of the medical profession; for example, it speaks of respecting one's instructors, using medical knowledge to help rather than harm, and safeguarding patients' privacy. Most important, it emphasizes that patients are to be treated not as cases or experimental subjects, but as human beings worthy of respect and compassion.