Hypocritical Oath Poem by Venkateswaran Krishnan Sreenivasan

Two score years and more ago, we swore by oath
Of Hippocrates and steered clear of any blot
In our mission of care in devotion and troth
Pride and avarice did we totally loathe

We are ripe physicians ordained by oath
To uphold the ethics of our profession aloft
And be the guiding stars to the present lot
Of half baked brethren with their own plot

Parental pressure and prestige craze
Must not propel you into the medical race
If your will is to wallow in wealth, be waylaid
Or change your course and take to trade

Introspect well before you enter
The temple of Asclepius; none to hinder
Any with a handsome ticket now; ask your mentor
To save you and sane advice to tender

Inside the temple worship Saraswathy
In faith, devotion and empathy
Look to your preceptors with reverence; yearning
To attain your goal by learning

Medicine is a field where tycoons now play;
In all matters medical, their money holds sway
In grooming the physicians into mercenary clay
To debase the ethics of the profession today

Tread the hallowed track with missionary zeal
To comfort always, relieve often and sometimes heal
Follow Osler’s omniscient light
Nature cures; may God lead you aright!