The Nova Oath: a physician’s pledge to courageous and ethical care

The Nova Oath is a modern physician’s declaration of courageous care and ethical impact:

I stand not merely as a technician of the body, but as a steward of life, a witness to pain, and a catalyst for healing.

I vow:

To do more than avoid harm — I will do good: actively, intelligently, and compassionately.
To honor the trust placed in me not as entitlement, but as a sacred contract — between souls, not systems.
To treat not just symptoms, but stories; not just labs, but lives; not just disease, but disconnection.
To resist the seduction of profit over principle, convenience over conscience, and silence over truth.
To walk with integrity even when the road is lonely, and to speak what is necessary even when it’s not popular.
To practice medicine not as a product to dispense, but as a relationship to embody — humble, whole, and human.
To question what is standard, defend what is ethical, and champion what is possible when we remember what we’re here for.
To remember that healing is sacred, and every patient is someone’s child, partner, or parent — including my own reflection in the mirror.

This is my oath. This is my reckoning. This is how I choose to serve.

Not just to do no harm. But to do more good.

This is the Nova Oath.

Kenneth Ro is a double board-certified emergency and internal medicine physician with more than 35 years of experience on the front lines of medicine. He is the author of PRIME: How to Win the Second Half of Life, a physician’s guide to reclaiming energy, identity, and purpose in midlife. His work now focuses on the deeper crises beneath modern health care, including burnout, loss of meaning, and quiet suffering among midlife men and physicians. He is the founder of Back in the Game Men™, the creator of the Nova Oath™, and the So Go Make a Difference™ movement. Connect with him on LinkedIn and learn more at KennethRoMD.com.