Hippocratic Oath

[Outta Here]

I am curious to know if Adventist doctors are required by law to swear by this oath?

 

"I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius the surgeon, likewise Hygeia and Panacea, and call all the gods and goddesses to witness, that I will observe and keep this underwritten oath, to the utmost of my power and judgment.

I will reverence my master who taught me the art. Equally with my parents, will I allow him things necessary for his support, and will consider his sons as brothers. I will teach them my art without reward or agreement; and I will impart all my acquirement, instructions, and whatever I know, to my master's children, as to my own; and likewise to all my pupils, who shall bind and tie themselves by a professional oath, but to none else.

With regard to healing the sick, I will devise and order for them the best diet, according to my judgment and means; and I will take care that they suffer no hurt or damage.

Nor shall any man's entreaty prevail upon me to administer poison to anyone; neither will I counsel any man to do so. Moreover, I will get no sort of medicine to any pregnant woman, with a view to destroy the child.

Further, I will comport myself and use my knowledge in a godly manner.

I will not cut for the stone, but will commit that affair entirely to the surgeons.

Whatsoever house I may enter, my visit shall be for the convenience and advantage of the patient; and I will willingly refrain from doing any injury or wrong from falsehood, and (in an especial manner) from acts of an amorous nature, whatever may be the rank of those who it may be my duty to cure, whether mistress or servant, bond or free.

Whatever, in the course of my practice, I may see or hear (even when not invited), whatever I may happen to obtain knowledge of, if it be not proper to repeat it, I will keep sacred and secret within my own breast.

If I faithfully observe this oath, may I thrive and prosper in my fortune and profession, and live in the estimation of posterity; or on breach thereof, may the reverse be my fate!"

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

I may be wrong, but I believe that SDA's would take the oath if graduating from non-SDA medical schools.  Apparently, Loma Linda U med school does not use the oath.. at least not back in 1992.

 

 

Spiritual healing is something I also have experienced. It is not something distant or incredible to this practitioner of the medical arts. Ambrose Pare, a French military surgeon, once said, "I treat, God heals." This motto has become more impressive for me than the Hippocratic Oath (which the students of Loma Linda University School of Medicine do not take, contrary to what many suppose).    http://www.llu.edu/assets/central/bioethics/documents/update/1992/may.pdf

[Outta Here]

Thank you for the prompt response. I am glad to know that they were not required to take the oath. May you have a wonderful day!

[Outta Here]

Thank you, also, for your response. My question is answered sufficiently. May your day be blessed!

[Gregory Matthews]

The so-called Hippocratic Oath had been modernized multiple times over the years and is today much different from that which you copied in post # 1.   The version that is most used today dates back to a 1964 revision.  It is the basic version that is used in the majority of medical schools in the United States.  However, probably not more than 50% of the medical schools in the United Kingdom use a similar version.  It should also be noted that the osteopathic schools use a version that     is quite different.  In any case, here is the 1964 version that is the basis for the majority of medical schools in the U.S.

 

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.

Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today.

[Gregory Matthews]

The first version of the Osteopathic Oath came into being in 1938.  This one underwent a revision in 1954 and is the one generally in used now in Osteopathic schools.  Her is the 1954 version:

 

NOTE: In the United States, graduates of accredited Osteopathic schools are considered to be physicians in the same sense that graduates of accredited medical schools are considered to be physicians.

 

I do hereby affirm my loyalty to the profession I am about to enter. I will be mindful always of my great responsibility to preserve the health and the life of my patients, to retain their confidence and respect both as a physician and a friend who will guard their secrets with scrupulous honor and fidelity, to perform faithfully my professional duties, to employ only those recognized methods of treatment consistent with good judgment and with my skill and ability, keeping in mind always nature's laws and the body's inherent capacity for recovery.

I will be ever vigilant in aiding in the general welfare of the community, sustaining its laws and institutions, not engaging in those practices which will in any way bring shame or discredit upon myself or my profession. I will give no drugs for deadly purposes to any person, though it be asked of me.

I will endeavor to work in accord with my colleagues in a spirit of progressive cooperation and never by word or by act cast imputations upon them or their rightful practices.

I will look with respect and esteem upon all those who have taught me my art. To my college I will be loyal and strive always for its best interests and for the interests of the students who will come after me. I will be ever alert to further the application of basic biologic truths to the healing arts and to develop the principles of osteopathy which were first enunciated by Andrew Taylor Still.

 

 

[Outta Here]

Thank you, Gregory. I did copy the original from another person whom I did not know, but assumed it was current. Thank you for the up-to-date (and far more acceptable, IMO) versions. Much appreciated! May you have a great day!

[Gregory Matthews]

Aubrey:  No problem.  I considered your question to be honest, sincere and deserving of an answer that went into a bit more detail.

 

There is a lot posted on the Internet that is half-true, false and more.  You asked a question without automatically accepting what you had been heard.  I wish that more people would do that.

 

After working for 20 years as a clinical provider in a Federal hospital, I knew that in the U.S. medical schools would not require such an oath.  As SDA Clergy I knew that our medical schools would not allow such an oath.  But, others who are outside that background  could misunderstand.  You and those others deserved a more comprehensive answer.   

 

Thank you for asking.

[Gerr]

My vague recollection is  that we used a modified version when  I graduated from LLUMC in 1970.

[Igakusei]

When I was at LLU we used a heavily modified version that talked about Christ a lot.

[Outta Here]

Thank you, Gerry and Igakusei, for adding your personal experiences as supporting evidence to rudywoofs' and Gregory's responses. With their citation of online evidences and your recounting of personal experiences, I am fully convinced that Adventist doctors do not swear by the (now archaic) Hippocratic Oath as I originally shared in my opening post. My question is sufficiently answered and I am appreciative of the efforts put forth in this thread. May you each, and everyone, have a blessed future.