Our Hippocratic Oath
I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and
judgment, this covenant:
I will respect the
hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly
share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
I will
apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding
those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic
nihilism.
I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as
science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's
knife or the chemist's drug.
I will not be ashamed to say "I know not,"
nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed
for a patient's recovery.
I will respect the privacy of my patients, for
their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially
must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If
it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to
take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and
awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God.
I will
remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human
being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability. My
responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for
the sick.
I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is
preferable to cure.
I will remember that I remain a member of society,
with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those
sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.
If I do not violate
this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with
affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions
of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my
help.