At the suggestion of one of the assistant deans at the medical school, the incoming students at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine decided to update their oath for the first time in the 137-year history of the school. As they rewrote it, it became more explicitly inclusive of all people, including those historically overlooked by the medical community. It was embraced full-heartedly by the administration. The oath, which was taken by the entire 149-member class last month, acknowledges the lives lost to COVID-19, the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, and the history of the “fundamental failings of our health care and political systems in serving vulnerable communities.” Read more.
