The BMJ ‘s wild goose chase
BMJ 2002; 325 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.325.7366.0/i (Published 28 September 2002) Cite this as: BMJ 2002;325:iOur readers have sent us on a wild but illuminating goose chase. They asked us to answer two simple questions: “What is a good doctor and how can we make one?” We commissioned the finest brains, searched both “the medical literature” and real literature, and invited our readers to help us—but the end result is that we don't have a good answer to either question. And we never could. We have been pursuing an illusion (p 722).
But how can this be? The profession is thousands of years old. Billions are spent on medical education. Colleges, academies, and councils from every country in every age have …
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