Restoring the soul of medicine

Recently I asked an orthopaedic surgeon how we could make the BMJ more useful for him. “I've no idea,” he answered, “I never read it. You must understand that I'm interested only in elbows.” If my elbow were smashed to pieces I might be grateful to be treated by such a surgeon, but generally I feel that there is more to me than my elbows. “It would be a tragic loss,” writes Prince Charles on p 181, “if traditional human caring had to move to the domain …