Why might you read the Oath?
The Oath is only a page long so it is one of the easiest reads on my BC list. You can find it online. This link has a short introduction then the full text. It will take less than five minutes to read when you have finished this post.
It is the oldest statement of ethics in the western sphere. As such it holds a special place in western medicine. It is common to see the Hippocratic Oath of various fields. It has become a reference for many other ethics statements. Today there is an updated versions that is still used as a guide of ethics in the medical profession.
Hippocrates is on my Self Education list because he is the father of medicine. We would not have the understanding we have now without his start point. I have learnt from this text that modern medicine has moved away from all the ideas in the original Oath.
The content of the Oath
Hippocrates swears by Apollo and all the gods. He then swears by healing itself.
He Pledges to -
- Treat his master with the respect due to a parent.
- Treat his master's sons as brothers.
- Teach healing only within the family and for free
- Help and not harm
- Not give a fatal draught or suggest it
- Not to give the draught for abortion
- Not to do surgery, but to leave that to surgeons
- Be upright and not ask for sexual favours
- Keep confidences
He then states that if he does these things it will go well for him. If he does not hold to this oath thigs will go poorly for him.
Reflections on the Oath
I knew that do no harm was in the Oath. The prohibition on abortion was a surprise to me. As did the prohibition on assisted suicide. It makes sense as an extension of the idea to do no harm. It is more the explicit nature of the prohibitions that surprised me. No wonder our medical professionals have issues with these things.
I did not realise that the relationship with his master was covered in the oath. To make your master like your parent is an interesting notion. Remembering that absolute obedience and reverence were required for your parents. It makes sense to extrapolate that onto how you treat their sons.
Doctor-Patient privilege goes back all the way to Hippocrates. We see this in his respect for keeping secrets at the end of the oath.
What others have to say about the Oath
The American Medical Association's Code of Medical Ethics (1996 edition) reads; The Hippocratic Oath "has remained in Western civilization as an expression of ideal conduct for the physician."
The website Nova points out that "According to a 1993 survey of 150 U.S. and Canadian medical schools, for example, only 14 percent of modern oaths prohibit euthanasia, 11 percent hold covenant with a deity, 8 percent foreswear abortion, and a mere 3 percent forbid sexual contact with patients—all maxims held sacred in the classical version."
Comparisons with other texts
The Physicians Oath has replaced the Hippocratic Oath for modern doctors. It is more modern in its language. It also updates the view on science and the teaching of the profession.
Conclusion
The Hippocratic Oath holds a strong place in the history of medicine. It is a simple text of instructions for medical ethics. It is stricter than most modern oaths. This is especially true with abortion and assisted dying. It has provisions for taking apprentices and how they should treat their master. As well as how the profession should be propagated.
