The biomedical engineer’s pledge: overview and context

Although biomedical engineering (BME) is a profession with ethical responsibilities comparable to those in medicine, it has, until now, lacked a counterpart to the Hippocratic Oath. While professional societies have established codes of ethics for biomedical engineers, these documents lack the symbolic and ceremonial significance of an oath or pledge. By contrast, the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath, or its modern version, the "Physician's Pledge," serves as a powerful rite of passage for medical students, fostering a strong sense of ethical duty at the start of their professional journey. However, the content of the Hippocratic Oath includes elements specific to clinical practice and is not directly applicable to biomedical engineering. To fill this gap, we have created a "Biomedical Engineer's Pledge," comprising a preamble, ten promises, and a concluding statement, to inspire ethical awareness and establish a meaningful graduation tradition.

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Publication Details

Journal
Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing
Published
2025-09-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-025-03443-6
Primary Topic
Quality and Safety in Healthcare
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

The biomedical engineer’s pledge: overview and context

Albert Ruiz‐Vargas, José L. Pons, Pilar Rivera Gil, Laura Becerra-Fajardo et al.
Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing
Quality and Safety in Healthcare
article

The biomedical engineer’s pledge: overview and context

Albert Ruiz‐Vargas, José L. Pons, Pilar Rivera Gil, Laura Becerra-Fajardo, Elad Maor, Filipe Oliveira Barroso, Juan C. Moreno, Lluis M. Mir, Jesús Minguillón, Antoni Ivorra, Rosa Villa, Rafael V. Davalos, Aurelio Ruiz-García, N. Noguera, Sara Capdevila, Aracelys García-Moreno, César Antonio González-Díaz, Jordi Grífols, Shahid Malik, Felipe Horacio Maglietti, Jean‐Louis Divoux, Guillermo Marshall, Jordi Aguiló, Txetxu Ausín, Dario Farina, Rita Quesada, Antonio J. del‐Ama, Andrés Ozaita, Óscar Cámara, Ahmed Eladly, Bart Bijnens, Boris Rubinsky, Gemma Revuelta, Xavier Navarro, Gemma Piella, Carla García Hombravella, Berta Mateu Yus, Bing Zhang, Ting Shu, Andreas Schneider, Roger Castellanos Fernandez, Raquel González López, Maria Sánchez Sánchez
article en

Abstract

Although biomedical engineering (BME) is a profession with ethical responsibilities comparable to those in medicine, it has, until now, lacked a counterpart to the Hippocratic Oath. While professional societies have established codes of ethics for biomedical engineers, these documents lack the symbolic and ceremonial significance of an oath or pledge. By contrast, the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath, or its modern version, the "Physician's Pledge," serves as a powerful rite of passage for medical students, fostering a strong sense of ethical duty at the start of their professional journey. However, the content of the Hippocratic Oath includes elements specific to clinical practice and is not directly applicable to biomedical engineering. To fill this gap, we have created a "Biomedical Engineer's Pledge," comprising a preamble, ten promises, and a concluding statement, to inspire ethical awareness and establish a meaningful graduation tradition.

Medical & Biological Engineering & ComputingVol. 64(1)
Northwestern University (US), Shanghai University (CN), Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (US), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (ES), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), Tel Aviv University (IL), Universitat Pompeu Fabra (ES), Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (ES), Utrecht University (NL), Instituto Cajal (ES), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Sheba Medical Center (IL), Institut Gustave Roussy (FR), The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (US), University of Manchester (GB), Biomedical Research Networking Center in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (ES), Institut Guttmann (ES), Centre for Automation and Robotics (ES), Instituto de Filosofía (ES), Instituto Universitario de Ciencias de la Salud - Fundación Héctor A. Barceló (AR), Institut d'Investigació en Ciències de la Salut Germans Trias i Pujol (ES), Center of Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona (ES), The Medical Device (United Kingdom) (GB), Fraunhofer Institute for Biomedical Engineering (DE), Institut de Microelectrònica de Barcelona (ES), Imperial College London (GB), Fundación Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (AR), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (MX), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IN), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), University of California, Berkeley (US), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES)
Openalex Percentile: Top 52%
Quality and Safety in Healthcare
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