Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 353, Issue 9159, 3 April 1999, Pages 1174-1177
The Lancet

Series
The performance of doctors: the new professionalism

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(99)91160-1Get rights and content

Section snippets

The public's expectations of doctors

When people are ill, they want doctors who are up-todate, thorough, and technically skilful. They expect doctors to listen, to have respect for their views, to treat them with kindness and consideration, to communicate effectively, and to give advice without being patronising. Patients want doctors who will keep their secrets safe, whose honesty and integrity are beyond reproach, and who will care for them even when medical science has nothing more to offer. Generally, they want an open

Professionalism and medical regulation

Medical regulation is under the microscope. For a decade, there has been growing public concern about the way the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Royal Colleges have operated professional self-regulation. To many, these institutions have reflected more general attitudes in the profession and have appeared unduly protective of doctors rather than patients. They have been accused of being inward looking, self interested, unaccountable, ineffective, and increasingly at odds with public

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