Ethical principles contained in currently professed medical oaths

This study analyzed the pledges received from all U.S. medical schools accredited in 1989 by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education of both the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Medical Association to determine what pledges were affirmed and what ethical principles they contained. The Oath of Hippocrates was the most frequently affirmed pledge (the wording of which was used by 60 schools). Few oaths clearly demonstrated respect for patients' autonomy. The principle of veracity was not evident in any oath. However, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice were evident in half of the pledges, and confidentiality was included in three-fourths of them. The authors conclude that the medical oaths failed to address the changing doctor-patient relationship emerging in the 1990s, whereas they continued to affirm traditional principles of nonmaleficence and beneficence.