title: Declarations made by graduating medical students in Australia and New Zealand.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To survey the use of declarations of ethical commitment made by graduating medical students in Australia and New Zealand.
  
  
  METHODS
  Information, obtained by email and telephone, from faculty officers of all faculties of medicine (or medicine and health sciences) in Australia and New Zealand.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Declarations are made by graduating medical students at seven of 12 Australasian faculties of medicine. To date, declarations have been based on the Declaration of Geneva or the Hippocratic Oath or have been formulated by academic staff or the students themselves. In six of the seven universities, declarations are made as part of a special declaration ceremony (usually combined with a prize-giving ceremony). One university includes a declaration as part of the official graduation ceremony.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We discuss the relative merits of a declaration selected for students by staff members and a declaration written anew by each group of graduating students.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney. paul.mcneill@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: McNeill
authors.forename: S Bruce
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Dowton
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006625:Hippocratic Oath; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical