The Nightingale Pledge

I solemnly pledge myself before God and in
the presence of this assembly, to
pass my life
in purity and to practice my profession
faithfully.
I
will abstain from whatever is deleterious
and mischievous, and will not take
or
knowingly administer any harmful drug.
I will do all in my power to
maintain and
elevate the standard of my profession, and
will hold in
confidence all personal matters
committed to my keeping and all family
affairs coming to my knowledge in the
practice of my calling.
With
loyalty will I endeavor to aid the
physician, in his work, and devote myself
to
the welfare of those committed to my care.

The Nightingale Pledge was composed by Lystra Gretter, an instructor of
nursing at the old Harper Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, and was first used
by its graduating class in the spring of 1893. It is an adaptation of the
Hippocratic Oath taken by physicians.