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Healing Gods Medical Ethics Medical Confidentiality Non-Maleficence

The Hippocratic Oath is one of the earliest expressions of medical ethics in the Western world. It requires new physicians to swear by healing gods to uphold standards like medical confidentiality and non-maleficence. Though the exact phrase "first do no harm" does not appear in the original oath, it establishes principles of avoiding intentional harm that still guide medical practice today. Swearing a modified form of the oath remains part of becoming a doctor in many countries.

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32 views1 page

Healing Gods Medical Ethics Medical Confidentiality Non-Maleficence

The Hippocratic Oath is one of the earliest expressions of medical ethics in the Western world. It requires new physicians to swear by healing gods to uphold standards like medical confidentiality and non-maleficence. Though the exact phrase "first do no harm" does not appear in the original oath, it establishes principles of avoiding intentional harm that still guide medical practice today. Swearing a modified form of the oath remains part of becoming a doctor in many countries.

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hi
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. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts.

In its original form, it requires a new


physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards. The oath is
the earliest expression of medical ethics in the Western world, establishing several principles of
medical ethics which remain of paramount significance today. These include the principles
of medical confidentiality and non-maleficence. As the seminal articulation of certain principles that
continue to guide and inform medical practice, the ancient text is of more than historic and symbolic
value. Swearing a modified form of the oath remains a rite of passage for medical graduates in many
countries.

It is often said that the exact phrase "First do no harm" (Latin: Primum non nocere) is a part of the
original Hippocratic oath. Although the phrase does not appear in the AD 245 version of the oath,
similar intentions are vowed by, "I will abstain from all intentional wrong-doing and harm". The
phrase "primum non nocere" is believed to date from the 17th century (see detailed discussion in
the article on the phrase).
Another equivalent phrase is found in Epidemics, Book I, of the Hippocratic school: "Practice two
things in your dealings with disease: either help or do not harm the patient". [7] The exact phrase is
believed to have originated with the 19th-century English surgeon Thomas Inman

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