By all that I hold sacred and with the understanding that not only must the physician and the attendants be prepared and dutiful but also that the patient must also conduce the cure, I shall, according to my best abilities and judgment, endeavor to keep the following Oath:

1. I shall do my best to improve the vitality of my existence, respecting always the integrity of the natural world and its relevance to our spiritual nature.

2. I shall within reason, let food be my medicine and medicine be my food. I shall in sickness and in health, attempt to nourish myself with the most healthful foods that nature and our food industry can provide, and conscientiously limit my intake of food-like substances known to offer little beyond sensory gratification, convenience or trendiness.

3. Appreciative of medical science but bearing in mind its expense and its limitations, I shall vigilantly consider elemental means of treatment prior to resorting to suppressive or invasive therapies such as pharmaceuticals or surgery.

4. I believe in prevention and in the power of the human and spiritual immune system as the best defense; hence I shall appreciate the wisdom of my body and the healing power of prayer. I shall limit my reliance upon complex medical diagnostic procedures as indicators of the state of my health. I shall educate myself in the risks and benefits of bio-technical preventive and curative measures such as vaccines, inoculations, and antibiotics, doing all in my power to insure that today’s compassionate act will not result in problems for others, even for generations yet to come.

5. Should I elect to receive medical treatment and should the remedy go awry, I shall not rush to jurisprudence seeking inordinate reward. Should I expire in the course of treatment, I ask that my loved ones not attempt to assign blame for my death upon anyone.

6. I believe that death does not have the last word but is a part of life and that it is even recognized by some as “God’s perfect healing.” Therefore I believe that the first goal of medicine is not to cure disease or to prolong life but to improve the quality of life. Thus, if deathly ill, I shall wish to receive no medical intervention that may extend my life but may presumably increase the probability of my becoming a burden to my family or my community. I shall trust in the Love that I have come to know as God and prefer to receive palliative measures only, that I may be kept comfortable until death occurs.

7. Aware that not all persons appreciate my understanding of life and death and health, I shall proffer but in no way impose this oath upon others.

And now, if I be true to this my pledge, may prosperity and good health and a peace beyond all understanding ever be mine; the opposite if I shall prove myself forsworn.

‘Lyn Fleury Lambert, Copyright Stuart C. Dodd Institute, Seattle, Washington©2003, revised July 2009

Drafted originally for a Theology of Healing workshop conducted by the Rev. Dr. Richard S. Kirby, with gratitude to Hippocrates and the unknown drafters of the various versions of the Hippocratic Oath.