Jurisprudential pathology of the Iranian medical oath

Obligation from physicians in the form of an oath dates back to the oath of Hippocrates and ancient Greece. These oaths have long been popular with changes in localization with respect to different cultures. In the Islamic period, not only the Hippocratic Oath was localized, but also other valuable effects were compiled in the form of advice letters; for instance, to create a sense of responsibility in physicians. Today in Iran, obtaining oaths from physicians is performed in the form of a graduation ceremony for medical students, and no attention is paid to its jurisprudential issues. This study was conducted with the aim of pathology of the jurisprudential dimensions of physicians’ oaths in Iran.

The present study was conducted with a qualitative exploratory approach in 2021 at the Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Four sessions of focus group discussion with the presence of twelve experts in the fields of medical ethics, philosophy, law and theology were performed to collect data. Six-step thematic analysis method of Brown and Clark (2006) was used for data analysis.

The findings showed that physicians’ oaths in Iran was purely moral and that granting jurisprudential and religious status, such as the obligation of atonement in violation of the oath, may have negative consequences. Furthermore, it does not legally create any right for patients than to physicians.

Modifying the provisions and the manner of performing the oath ceremony and obtaining it in the three stages including entering education, during education and graduation, is one of the important suggestions of the present study.