Most of the medical graduates from the University of Tasmania will today be making\u00a0a modern form of the Hippocratic Oath.<\/p>\n
\u00a0There have been a number of changes in the Oath over the years and\u00a0the change\u00a0I enjoy<\/span><\/strong> is the change from<\/span><\/p>\n I will not cut, even for the stone, but I will leave such procedures to the practitioners of that craft<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 – [Now just what on earth and stone, did that mean?]\u00a0 \u00a0to<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.<\/em><\/p>\n The change I least appreciate<\/span><\/strong> <\/span>is from<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0I will not give a fatal draught to anyone if I am asked, nor will I suggest any such thing. Neither will I give a woman means to procure an abortion<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/em>to<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 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.<\/em><\/p>\n Original Hippocratic Oath<\/a>:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (Translated by J Chadwick and WN Mann, 1950)<\/p>\n I swear by Apollo the healer, by Aesculapius, by Health and all the powers of healing, and call to witness all the gods and goddesses that I may keep this Oath and Promise to the best of my ability and judgement.<\/em><\/p>\n I will pay the same respect to my master in the Science as to my parents and share my life with him and pay all my debts to him.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0I will regard his sons as my brothers and teach them the Science, if they desire to learn it, without fee or contract.<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0I will hand on precepts, lectures and all other learning to my sons, to those of my master and to those pupils duly apprenticed and sworn, and to none other.<\/em><\/p>\n I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgement; I will abstain from harming or wronging any man by it.<\/em><\/p>\n I will not give a fatal draught to anyone if I am asked, nor will I suggest any such thing. Neither will I give a woman means to procure an abortion.<\/em><\/p>\n I will be chaste and religious in my life and in my practice.<\/em><\/p>\n I will not cut, even for the stone, but I will leave such procedures to the practitioners of that craft.<\/em><\/p>\n Whenever I go into a house, I will go to help the sick and never with the intention of doing harm or injury. I will not abuse my position to indulge in sexual contacts with the bodies of women or of men, whether they be freemen or slaves.<\/em><\/p>\n Whatever I see or hear, professionally or privately, which ought not to be divulged, I will keep secret and tell no one.<\/em><\/p>\n If, therefore, I observe this Oath and do not violate it, may I prosper both in my life and in my profession, earning good repute among all men for my time. If I transgress and forswear this oath, may my lot be otherwise.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The Hippocratic Oath: Modern Version<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures [that] are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Written in 1964 by Louis Lasagna, Academic Dean of the School of Medicine at Tufts University, and used in many medical schools today\u00a0<\/p>\n A good overview of this theme on BBC website, The Hippocratic Oath<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most of the medical graduates from the University of Tasmania will today be making\u00a0a modern form of the Hippocratic Oath. \u00a0There have been a number of changes in the Oath over the years and\u00a0the change\u00a0I enjoy is the change from … Continue reading