A group of medical students at the University of Pittsburgh wrote their own version of the Hippocratic oath which acknowledges system racism in medicine, the coronavirus pandemic and several high profile police killings of African Americans.

During their orientation, a group of first-year medical students created a new class oath that the class recited ahead of the symbolic white coat ceremony in August which marked the beginning of their medical school journey.

"We start our medical journey amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and a national civil rights movement reinvigorated by the killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery," the oath begins. "We honor the 700,000+ lives lost to COVID-19, despite the sacrifices of health care workers."

Students also pledged to eliminate their personal biases, combat misinformation to improve health literacy and be an ally to minorities and other underserved groups in society to dismantle systemic racism perpetuated by medical professionals.

"I will be an ally to those of low socioeconomic status, the BIPOC community, the LGBTQIA+ community, womxn/women, differently-abled individuals and other underserved groups in order to dismantle the systemic racism and prejudice that medical professionals and society have perpetuated," the oath continued.

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