The golden rule is to treat your fellow medicos as you would wish to be treated
When I was a medical student in the 1950s, we learned about medical etiquette, which our teachers then confused with medical ethics. There were rules governing the relationships between doctors, especially about “pinching” each other’s patients. And consultants were supposed to meet the patient and his or her general practitioner and give an opinion, not take over the patient. Being asked to treat a colleague, or a member of their family, was regarded as the ultimate professional accolade, and charging a fee was not an option. The same principles applied to nurses, medical students and clergy.
The full article is accessible to AMA
members and paid subscribers.
Login to MJA or subscribe now.
- 1. Nuttall JL. Professional discretion, courtesy and plain good manners: an anecdotal and personal view. Med J Aust 2005; 183: 627-628.
- 2. Kamien BA, Bassiri M, Kamien M. Doctors bad-mouthing each other. Does it affect medical students’ career choices? Aust Fam Physician 1999; 28: 576-579.
- 3. Hays R. Problems with problems in problem-based curricula. Med Educ 2002; 36: 788.
- 4. Kamien M. Good referral letters and good replies. In: Berglund C, Saltman D, editors. Communication for healthcare. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002: 135-147.
Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.
I have never experienced anything but help from my radiological colleagues. The closest I ever came to discourtesy was waiting 3 hours for a computed tomography scan after falling from my bicycle. I asked the receptionist when the booked scan might be available. She replied, “A CAT scan is not a happy snappy, Chappie”.