“I Swear by Apollo” — On Taking the Hippocratic Oath

Every spring for almost 20 years, I have happily donned a rented robe, hood, and mortarboard to attend medical school commencement exercises. The purpose of this annual foray into pomp and circumstance goes well beyond applauding the achievements of graduates who are about to enter the medical profession. For me, commencement is the perfect opportunity to renew my vows, as it were, standing shoulder to shoulder with both newly minted doctors and like-minded colleagues as we take the Hippocratic Oath.Although many scholars dispute the exact authorship of the writings ascribed to the ancient physician Hippocrates, who probably lived sometime . . .