The state of ethical-legal oaths in UK medical practice today: Is it time to look at standardising?

Abstract

The taking of an ethical-legal oath is a “rite of passage” for many medical practitioners. A 1997 paper noted that half of medical schools in the UK administer an oath. I performed a survey of UK medical schools to see whether these are still used today. An electronic survey was sent to 31 UK medical schools, asking them whether the Hippocratic Oath (in any version) was taken by their medical students; non-respondents were followed up by telephone. Information was obtained from 21 UK medical schools, giving a response rate of 68% (21/31). A total of 18 (86%) institutions use an oath. Ethical-legal oaths are therefore taken in the vast majority of UK medical schools today. However, a great variety are used, and there are advantages in standardisation. My recommendation is that the Standard Medical Oath of the UK (SMOUK) is adopted by all medical schools, and that this is also taken regularly by doctors as part of revalidation.