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A Revised Hippocratic Oath

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At the request of Dean Gotto, Dr Fins chaired a special committee of 18 faculty and two student leaders from both the New York City and Doha, Qatar campuses of Weill Cornell Medical College to craft an updated version of the Hippocratic Oath. The committee was composed of a diverse and distinguished group including Dean Gotto, Carol L. Storey-Johnson, M.D., Senior Associate Dean for Education, Alvin I. Mushlin, M.D., Sc.M., Chairman of the Department of Public Health; Pablo Rodriguez del Pozo, M.D., J.D., PhD, Assistant Professor of Public Health � Qatar; Donna DiMichele, MD, Associate Professor of Public Health, Oliver Fein, MD, Professor of Clinical Public Health, and The Reverend Curtis Hart, MDiv, Lecturer in Public Health. The new oath was unveiled at Commencement ceremonies in June 2005.

The original Hippocratic Oath has been revised many times to reflect changes in medical practice. Historically, these revisions have been undertaken by individuals or professional associations. The new Weill Cornell oath is distinctive because it represents an institutional effort. New emphases in the revised oath address the doctor's responsibilities and duties to serve as advocate for their patients, champion social justice for the sick, and forge strong bonds throughout the healing process. It also fosters trust and respect within the profession by including a pledge to help sustain colleagues in their service to humanity. The committee worked to achieve a balance between archaic and modern forms of expression and also replaced phrases that have a religious connotation with more ecumenical expressions.

The revised oath ends on a more positive note than the classical version, which threatens retribution for any doctor who transgressed the oath and swore falsely. Revised, it reads: "I now turn to my calling, promising to preserve its finest traditions, with the reward of a long experience in the joy of healing." It concludes: "I make this vow freely and upon my honor," again underscoring personal responsibility as a guidepost in one's profession.

Read the press release about the revised oath, with a link to the text of the oath.

The oath has also been printed on the back of T-shirts being sold at the Weill Cornell Medical College bookstore. Read the press release.