Intended for healthcare professionals

Rapid response to:

Observations Out of Hours

The secret lives of doctors

BMJ 2008; 336 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39570.465266.59 (Published 08 May 2008) Cite this as: BMJ 2008;336:1044

Rapid Response:

Et Tu Brutus?

We are reminded every day by our young service managers wet behind their ears, ministers, trustboard members etc as to how insignificant our profession is. We are able to shrug that all of because we know that it is untrue and that even with all the guidelines and incident forms the medical professional is if not the king pin pretty much at the centre of medical care.So what is one to make of this article in a journal funded by our subcriptions?Tounge deeply embedded in the cheek? checking our masochism which has been institutionalized by attacks on the medical profession by all and sundry or to check out our sense of humour. One could dismiss it as a rant or sadly say Et tu Brutus?

Competing interests: A medical professional in the NHS who thinks he is reasonably clever

Competing interests: No competing interests

14 May 2008
Jayaprakash Ayillath Gosalakkal
Consultant Paediatric Neurology
Leicester Royal Infirmary LE1 5WW