The History of the Hippocratic Oath : Outdated , Inauthentic , and Yet Still Relevant

Nearly all medical schools incorporate some form of professional medical oath into their graduation ceremonies. The oldest and most popular of these oaths is the Hippocratic Oath, composed more than 2,400 years ago. In modern times, especially during the twentieth century, the Hippocratic Oath has had its content changed and its authorship challenged. This article discusses the history of the Hippocratic Oath from its traditional form to its modern adaptations. Additionally, this article seeks to explain the Hippocratic Oath’s endurance despite these challenges, based upon the historical importance of Hippocrates and the Hippocratic tradition in Western medicine. THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF THE “OATH” Medical school is filled with a variety of ceremonies. There are white-coat ceremonies, stethoscope ceremonies, and cadaver-related convocations. Perhaps the oldest rite of passage is the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath that many medical schools across the globe have incorporated into their graduation ceremonies over the past 500 years (Miles, 2004). The modern Hippocratic Oath is an oath or declaration taken by many graduating medical students or physicians stating their intentions to practice medicine justly and ethically. Ceremonial and nonobligatory, the Hippocratic Oath can be compared to that taken by a judge, president, or other politician when he or she is sworn into office. Nevertheless, many schools consider it a rite of passage for physicians, and the vast majority of U.S. medical schools incorporate some oath into their graduation ceremonies, about half of which use some version of the Hippocratic Oath (Orr et al., 1997). What are the origins of this time-honored ritual? What is the history of the Hippocratic Oath? The original Hippocratic Oath is an ancient Greek document simply titled “Oath” and is the oldest and most well known medical oath. Many versions with slight variations exist, and the translation listed on the National Institutes of Health webpage on the Hippocratic Oath can be found at the end of this article. According to Orr et al. (1997), the content of the traditional Hippocratic Oath can be divided into 12 items: