In Hippocrates’s time, there were many people who claimed to be healers but had no formal training or medical knowledge. They would prey on the fears of the sick and would change for fraudulent cures.
The physicians of the Hippocratic School sought to distinguish themselves and establish trust with their patients. This is part of the inspiration for the Hippocratic Oaths.
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| Hippocratic Oath |
The oath dates back to the fourth century BC and forms the basis of the western medical ethics. The Hippocratic Oath sums up the essential of what the Greeks thought should be reflected by a good physician and also what should be good medicine.
All new doctors coming out of the ancient Hippocratic School would take the Hippocratic Oath.
In this vow, the speaker swore to honor the brotherhood of the school, never to treat a patient with any purpose other than healing, never to give poison or induce abortion.
This oath established an ethical standard or personal and professional conduct for Hippocratic physicians that distinguished them from other unscrupulous or untrained people.
Hippocrates and his oath
