The WMA took responsibility for setting ethical guidelines for the world physicians and has become the recognized authority to speak for the doctors of the world in international affairs. The Muslim physician cannot swear allegiance to the original Hippocratic Oath because of its invocation to various Gods. In Islam, the first source of Islamic law is the Qur'an, which contains the rules of conduct that a person or group hold as reliable in differentiating right from wrong.
This is pretty much what ethics is all about — the ability to differentiate between right and wrong. Muslims believe that character traits of the moral and honest physician are already embedded in the Qur'an and the Sunna, the two primary sources of Islamic law.
The Sunna is the verbally transmitted record of the teachings, deeds, and sayings of the prophet Muhammad.
Therefore, as Muslims grow up, they are guided by the Qur'an and the Sunna, hence the Muslim physician will possess the necessary character traits of a decent and noble physician. The Qur'an instructs Muslims on all aspects of their daily life, from cleanliness to health matters. A person's character is shaped during childhood and adulthood, and hence character education should begin in childhood — at home and in school.
The role model for such moral behavior is the prophet Muhammad. Therefore, emulating the prophet Muhammad is desirable for He is an inspiration to everyone. His teachings inspire the lives of people with virtue, good manners, and moderation. Consequently, a good Muslim physician has no need to pledge loyalty to an Oath. Islam sets the foundations for behaving well and possessing the requisite character traits to become a fine person and by extension, a physician with good moral fiber.
Muslim physicians are guided by their Quran which clearly states:. He exhorts you that you may be mindful. We know that the heart of medicine is the doctor—patient relationship. Ethics in its unsophisticated form is the ability to differentiate right from wrong. The Oath of Hippocrates has historically guided physician's professional conduct. Its principles are held sacred by doctors to this day.
Some say that the oath is irrelevant in modern medical practice because it does not address ethical issues that are relevant today. Many medical schools still administer a version of the Hippocratic Oath to its graduates. Muslim physicians are brought up by similar ethical teachings in the Qur'an. A physician with a Western upbringing may or may not swear allegiance to the Oath. National Center for Biotechnology Information , U. Journal List Heart Views v. Heart Views.
Rachel Hajar , M. Author information Copyright and License information Disclaimer. E-mail: moc. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. It was not always so. Do physicians abide by an ethical code? Table 1 The classical version of the Hippocratic Oath. Open in a separate window. Is the Hippocratic Oath irrelevant today or is it an invaluable moral guide? Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.
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I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgement, and I will do no harm or injustice to them. I will not give a lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan; and similarly I will not give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion. I will not use the knife, even upon those suffering from stones, but I will leave this to those who are trained in this craft. Into whatever homes I go, I will enter them for the benefit of the sick, avoiding any voluntary act of impropriety or corruption, including the seduction of women or men, whether they are free men or slaves.
A modern Hippocratic Oath keeps original values in place while meeting the needs of our advanced medical practices and societal values. Written in the 5th century B. While the creators intended it to be a binding covenant, modern doctors see the oath as a promise to uphold the art of medicine and act in patients' interests. The medical community has changed the oath to accommodate shifts in medicine and society over centuries.
For example, the original oath swears by Apollo and other Greek gods of medicine. The oath also included the promise of patient confidentiality, perhaps the first such for professional practice committed to writing. The Hippocratic Oath was modern for its time; in fact, it might have been too modern, as there are few references to the document between its initial appearance around BCE and the Middle Ages. In s Germany medieval scholars rediscovered and updated the document to adhere to Christian practices, though it was still not widely disseminated.
It was not until the s when the document was translated into English that Western medical schools began regularly incorporating the oath in convocations. Widely known modern versions include the Declaration of Geneva, adopted by the World Medical Association in and periodically updated to today. Another well-known version, the oath written by Louis Lasagna, then the Dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine, includes pledges to avoid overtreatment and to pursue disease prevention.
Although some aspects of the Hippocratic Oath are not directly applicable to modern practice, such as swearing by the Greek gods who were believed to oversee medicine, much of the oath is still important for nurses and others on the medical care team. The overarching theme of the Hippocratic Oath and of its modern descendants is the idea that the individual reciting the pledge is making a personal dedication to ethical and committed care.
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