At the time of receiving their M.D. degree, physicians take an oath to uphold medical ethics, which was named for which person?

The tradition of physicians taking an ethical pledge upon graduation is named for Hippocrates of Cos, a Greek physician who lived in the 5th century BCE. Widely regarded as the "Father of Medicine," Hippocrates is credited with revolutionizing the field by asserting that diseases were caused by natural processes, not by superstition or the gods. The Hippocratic Oath is the most famous text from the Hippocratic Corpus, a collection of medical works associated with him and his students. It established a groundbreaking code of conduct for physicians, setting a standard for moral and ethical obligations to patients.

The original oath begins with a pledge to the Greek gods of healing, such as Apollo and Asclepius, and contains promises to act in the patient's best interest, to "do no harm," and to maintain patient confidentiality. While the classical text is rarely administered in its original form today, its spirit endures as the bedrock of medical ethics. Modern versions, often recited at medical school graduations, are secular and have been adapted to address contemporary issues, but they continue to uphold the core principles of duty and compassion first laid out by the ancient Greek physician more than two millennia ago.