Page:A short history of nursing - Lavinia L Dock (1920).djvu/396

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
380
A Short History of Nursing

38o Appendix II lation, and that by precept, lecture, and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the art to my own sons and to those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by a stipulation and oath, according to the law of medicine, but to none others. "I will follow that method of treatment which, according to my ability and judgment, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous. I will give no deadly medicine to any one if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; furthermore, I will not give to a woman an instrument to produce abortion. "With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practise my art. I will not cut a person who is suffering with a stone, but will leave this to be done by practitioners of this work. Into whatever houses I enter I will go into them for the benefit of the sick and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption ; and further from the seduction of females or males, bond or free. "Whatever, in connection with my professional practice, or not in connection with it, I may see or hear in the lives of men which ought not to be spoken abroad, I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such should be kept secret. "While I continue to keep this oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men at all times, but should I trespass and violate this oath, may the reverse be my lot." The modified Hippocratic oath arranged by Mrs. Lystra Gretter for the nurses of the Farrand Training School, Detroit, was called the Florence Nightingale Pledge as a token of esteem for Miss Nightingale. It