An updated version of the Hippocratic Oath taken by the physicians, wonder if Osteopaths take the same oath, will have to look into that ...... I imagine that there are some of these that with the present day climate in medicine, they are hard to live up to ..... I PERSONALLY THINK THERE SHOULD BE SOME MENTION OF A DRESS CODE FOR DOCTORS .............. my opinion only ... I was brought up in the day when you got bathed and dressed up, clean underwear for sure, before going to the Doctor, who was wearing a suit, shirt and tie, perhaps a clean lab coat of some kind. Attire has nothing to do with the quality of the service rendered, but, it does have a lot to do with how the Doctor is perceived, and I think that affects the patient, and their belief in the Doctor and the quality of their services.
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 [that] 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 to 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.
