Professionals of all disciplines are indebted to the BMJ for having opened up the issue of whistleblowing and for it being summed up so well by Peter Gooderham (BMJ 2009;338:b2090, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2090). As he points out, much more could be done by official bodies to help overcome the culture of silence and fear in many working environments. However, the time has come for those professionals who feel strongly about the problem to take matters into their own hands and lead the way towards a reassertion of true professionalism appropriate for the 21st century.

Faced with all the demands of the modern working environment and often inappropriate media coverage, to say nothing of career and family concerns, it takes a very special professional to go “out on a limb” and make a stand about something he or she believes not to be in the public interest. When the constraints of corporate endeavour, team spirit, and workplace friendships are added, the problems of …