Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine

I swear in the presence of GOD the Father and of his Son JESUS the eternal King of this Earth, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment, this oath and this covenant:

To hold those who have taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him or her, and if they are in need of money to give them a share of mine, and to regard their children as equal to my brothers and sisters and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my children and to the children of those who have instructed me, and to pupils who have signed this covenant and have taken this oath according to the medical law, but to no one else.

I will apply dietetic & exercise measures for the benefit of the sick & injured according to my ability and judgment; I will keep my patients  from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy, except in three circumstances: rape, severe danger to the life of the mother, severe danger to the life of the child. In purity and holiness I will guard my patients lives (including the not yet born) and the quality of their lives, as I guard my own life and my art.

I will be conservative in the use of the knife; and when surgery will benefit my patients, when necessary, I will not be reluctant to refer the care of my patients to those physicians that are known to be better qualified than myself in a particular procedure.

Whatever places I may visit, I will come to practice for the benefit of the sick and injured, or to prevent disease and suffering, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male patients found therein.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of mankind, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about, except when such discussions are necessary with my staff and contemporaries, and only for the seeking of benefit to my patient.

If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all of  mankind, for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.

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