Do US Military Corpsmen Take an Oath?

[SharkB8]

I don’t mean that they should have integrity as a member of the military, but since many do perform some of the same duties as a physician, are they required to take the Hippocratic oath or something similar?

[Odesio]

Do doctors still take the Hippocratic oath? From what I can recall it begins with an appeal to Apollo and Hygia.

Marc

[Paul_in_Qatar]

It mentions not giving poison to a patient even if he begs for it. It says the doctor will not assist in an abortion. Really old-fashioned stuff.

No, corpsmen (and Army medics) do not take a special oath.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

This is the NIH translation of the Hippocratic Oath:

I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepios and Hygeia and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:

To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.

Note that it effectively forbids surgery in addition to abortion and euthanasia.

Most (not all) countries require physicians to follow the tenets of the Declaration of Geneva nowadays. Declaration of Geneva - Wikipedia
Lots have their own guidelines.
They’re all loosely based on the HO though.

[Mr.Moto]

Just to let you know, corpsmen do take an oath:

I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

Same oath as other enlistees.

[SharkB8]

I mentioned in the OP aside from any military/integrity oath…

I mean an oath as someone providing medical care. Strictly medical oath.

I go to corpsman school next summer and I was just curious…

[running_coach]

From Wiki.

[SharkB8]

@runner pat

From Wiki.

Super! Exactly what I was looking for…

Thanks

[Mr.Moto]

deleted - answered above.

[Wendell_Wagner]

The Hippocratic oath is tradition and nothing else. It has no legally binding effect. Some medical schools still use it and some don’t.

[vetbridge]

I prefer this quote:

The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon.

Sir John Eric Ericksen [British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873]

[Loach]

@SharkB8

but since many do perform some of the same duties as a physician…

The military has physicians. Navy Corpsmen and Army medics perform the duties of EMTs and/or paramedics on the civilian side.

[SkeptiJess]

@SharkB8

I mentioned in the OP aside from any military/integrity oath…

I mean an oath as someone providing medical care. Strictly medical oath.

I go to corpsman school next summer and I was just curious…

If you have any other specific questions (the oath thing having been answered), I’d be glad to pass them along to my son, who is an HM3 serving with the Marines in Iraq right now.

[SharkB8]

@Loach

The military has physicians. Navy Corpsmen and Army medics perform the duties of EMTs and/or paramedics on the civilian side.

I was told that oftentimes, on Coast Guard cutters, where there are no physicians, the HS on board is responsible for the health of the crew…and on occasion, those responsibilities fall into the category of a physician’s duties.

But the Coast Guard isn’t the REAL military…

[AmunRa]

@Loach

The military has physicians. Navy Corpsmen and Army medics perform the duties of EMTs and/or paramedics on the civilian side.

While the above is true Army medics are often the primary care providers for their soldiers in practice. Depending on the medic’s rank and the physician assistant that is in charge of them they do perform many of the functions of a physician while in the field.

It is my understanding that the Navy’s Independent Duty Corpsmen are given a much broader and explicit scope than army medics when it comes to providing primary care for their soldiers.