This week brings an end to the consultation period on Liam Donaldson's report on professional regulation in the United Kingdom. There's been no shortage of comments on the report (this week's BMJ carries some more on p 965), with emotions running high on many issues. How should Donaldson respond?

On the face of it his recommendations represent a huge challenge to the profession—an end to professional self regulation with loss of elected representation, removal of the General Medical Council's control of undergraduate education (which effectively excludes it from setting standards at entry to the profession), and the setting …