"But you're not a doctor!"

doi:10.1136/bmj.a3077

Published 23 December 2008, doi:10.1136/bmj.a3077
Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a3077

Observations

Ethics Man

"But you’re not a doctor!"

Daniel K Sokol, lecturer in medical ethics and law, St George’s, University of London

daniel.sokol@talk21.com

Ethicists are valuable additions to the medical community, notdespite but because of their distance from the nitty-grittyof clinical practice

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

My partner, a surgeon, does not tell her colleagues that I’ma medical ethicist. I am, instead, a "journalist."

At a working party of anaesthetics last week an intensivistexpressed surprise that the meeting proceeded without argument."I expected the ethicist to be against this pro-doctor proposal,"he said, with evident relief. If doctors could design a Dante-esqueinferno, medical ethicists would inhabit one of the lowest circles,below the statisticians and lower still than nurse managersand sociologists. Sporting ass’s ears, we would wallowin the excrement spewed from our mouths, whipped by doctorsstruck off the General Medical Council’s register—asuitable punishment for a group believed by many cliniciansto bash doctors and speak drivel.

Three years ago I wrote an editorial for the BMJ arguing forthe introduction of clinical ethicists in hospitals.¹ One retiredGP remarked, sardonically, "So bring in someone from an ivorytower, who . . . [Full text of this article]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike Add to Complore Complore Add to Connotea Connotea Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us Add to Digg Digg Add to Reddit Reddit Add to StumbleUpon StumbleUpon Add to Technorati Technorati What's this?

Relevant Article

Time to get streetwise: why medical ethics is in need of doctors: Daniel Sokol
BMJ 2006 333: 1226. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Rapid Responses:

Read all Rapid Responses

We need �ethical� doctors!: Dr Mohamed Sakel
bmj.com, 4 Jan 2009 [Full text]
Ethically defend the bashed doctors: P Lim
bmj.com, 4 Jan 2009 [Full text]
A problem halved....: David R Warriner
bmj.com, 5 Jan 2009 [Full text]
'If the Hat Fits, Wear It': Kandappu Mylvaganam, et al.
bmj.com, 9 Jan 2009 [Full text]
The twin towers of medicine and ethics�a problem of our concern.: Tanu PramanikBSc.MA(Sociology), et al.
bmj.com, 9 Jan 2009 [Full text]