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ABSTRACT
An oath is an intentional or voluntary promise to do or not to do something, usually with a religious backing. An oath is a declaration of sorts but at the same time an appeal usually to a supreme being for help in order to fulfill ones promise. Oaths are scared and solemn, they are suppose to be reverend by others and bound on the individual taking it. There are so many tpes of oath, there is the oath of office, the legal oath taking in a competent court of law, the blood oath, taking by lovers, the religious oath used by many religious devotees e.t.c. Oaths taking has been in existence since time immemorial and one of the earliest oath, is the Hippocratic oath written by Hippocrates in 400BCE. This oath is also termed, the physician oath. The Hippocratic oath is an oath to do no harm in the course of ones medical practice. The oath has been in existence for over 2500 years, its main focus is for the well-being of the patient. The oath was written specifically to prevent self-interested doctors from harming their patients. The oath can be said to be the beginning of medical ethics. As we are all aware, medicine deals with lives and not just only animals lives but human lives as well. A person who has to deal with the lives of other humans should take care not to allow greed or any other self-serving benefit derails him from his goal. Though, the oath has no legal backing, but all legal medical issues are adjudged in the light of the oath. In the medical parlance today, many bioethical issues arises everyday which were not in existence during the time of Hippocrates. With the growth in technogical advancement, so also is the growth in medical advancement and with all this advancement arises more ethical questions for the doctor. In the light of all these, is the oath still sufficient? At graduation from medical school, every students is traditionally expected to take the oath this tradition overtime has been seen as a rite of passage other than an aggregation of promises bracketed by an opening invocation and a closing entreaty[1] . Many doctors today can't remember the words of the oath after graduation. it is sad and disheartening that an oath that has been in existence for over 2500 years even though it has been changed severally and to meet the new standard in medicine but still retains its core values can be taken for granted.
[1]The Hippocratic Oath and Ethics of Medicine by Steven h. Miles p.7
