By Lewis Pennock For Dailymail.Com

‘They’re going to change the white coat next!’ Top doctor slams University of Minnesota medical school for abandoning the Hippocratic oath by making students pledge to ‘honor Indigenous ways of healing that’s been marginalized by Western medicine’

A woke oath taken by students at a prestigious medical school pledging to tackle white supremacy and embrace indigenous medicine has been blasted as harmful to patients.

The University of Minnesota medical school’s class of 2026 recited an oath which also promised to ‘uproot the legacy and perpetuation of structural violence deeply embedded within the healthcare system’.

But a leading doctor has now warned adopting political messages instead of focusing on healthcare could harm the public.

The oath said: ‘We commit to uprooting the legacy and perpetuation of structural violence deeply embedded within the healthcare system.

‘We recognize iniquities built by past and present traumas rooted in white supremacy, colonialism, the gender binary, ableism and all forms of oppression.’

Students committed to ‘promoting an culture of anti-racism, listening and amplifying voices for positive change’.

They added: ‘We pledge to honor all Indigenous ways of healing that have been historically marginalized by Western medicine.’

But Dr Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, said the contents of the pledge were a ‘mess’.

‘Indigenous medicine, honoring the history of that would be one thing, but if we start having to give out herbs rather than the latest technology, it might actually influence patient care,’ he told Fox News.

‘The other thing I wonder is, are they going to get rid of the white coat altogether, because it’s a white coat?’

The university’s oath, taken on August 19, also referred to ‘healing our planet’.

But Dr Siegel said: ‘Well how about healing ourselves and healing our patients? The whole white coat ceremony was based on the Hippocratic Oath, do no harm, and the whole idea of being humble and being kind and having integrity.

‘All of that really matters and the ceremony is really important.

‘There’s no guarantee whatsoever that even if you mouth those words that you won’t actually treat people properly.

‘You could mouth those words and be politically correct and follow critical race theory but still be awful to people.

‘They are building a community of robots, not doctors. I want to know how to take out an appendix, how to give antibiotics, that’s what we’re supposed to be doing.’

He concluded by saying student should be ‘studying medical text books’ rather than being forced into social and political debates.

White coat ceremonies typically include a recital of the Hippocratic Oath, which dates back to Ancient Greece as an ethical code for physicians. It includes the promise: ‘First, do no harm’.

The ceremony at the University of Minnesota was led by Robert Englander, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education.

The university explains: ‘It is during this ceremony when students recite their oath.

‘This sacred pledge dates back hundreds of years and affirms each student to abide by a strong set of ethical standards, commitment to their patients and the utmost quality of care.’

Students also committed to ‘promoting an culture of anti-racism, listening and amplifying voices for positive change’.

‘We vow to embrace our role as community members and strive to embody cultural humility,’ the oath said.

‘We promise to continue restoring trust in the medical system and fulfilling our responsibilities as educators and advocates.

‘We commit to collaborating with social, political and additional systems to advance health equity.

‘We will learn from the scientific innovations made before us and pledge to advance and share this knowledge with peers and neighbors.

‘We recognize the importance of being in community with and advocating for those we serve.’