Ethics for an international health profession

Abstract

These thoughts about an ethic of international health can be summarized in a very free revision of the Hippocratic Oath: I will share the science and art by precept, by demonstration, and by every mode of teaching with other physicians regardless of their national origin. I will try to help secure for the physicians in each country the esteem of their own people, and in collaborative work see that they get full credit. I will strive to eliminate sources of disease everywhere in the world and not merely set up barriers to the spread of disease to my own people. I will work for understanding of the diverse causes of disease, including the social, economic, and environmental. I will promote the well-being of mankind in all its aspects, not merely the bodily, with sympathy and consideration for a people's culture and beliefs. I will strive to prevent painful and untimely death, and also to help parents to achieve a family size conforming to their desires and to their ability to care for their children. In my concern with whole communities I will never forget the needs of its individual members.