see also:

• stress in ED doctors
• administrative aspects of Emergency Medicine in Australia
• conflict of interest for employees of hospitals and members of committees and boards of management

• respecting a patient's own autonomy, the right of individuals to make decisions on their own behalf

• the duty to do the best for the individual patient

• the duty to do no unnecessary harm

• the duty to treat your patients who have similar conditions equitably taking into account responsibilities to the community

• being honest and trustworthy
• never misusing the doctor-patient relationship for improper purposes (financial, sexual or social)

• deal honestly with your patients - patients do not expect that you will lie to them

• placing your patient's interests ahead of your personal interests and not abandoning patients under your care

• sympathetic understanding of others' suffering and distress and a desire to alleviate it

• not disclosing information about a patient without their consent

• perceiving a patients needs and health care from their perspective

• an important skill

• brings together clinical knowledge, skills, communication skills and ethical appreciation

• MJA Feb 2009 criticism of the AMC draft code of conduct
• Good Medical Practice - the controversial AMC Draft Code of Conduct 2008 (pdf)
• Med. Board Qld - Good medical practice (pdf)
• MJA 2008 - Preoccupation with doctors - editorial
• MJA 2008 - Dealing with “rogue” medical students: we need a nationally consistent approach based on “case law”
  • “Most doctors who demonstrate poor professionalism will have behaved appropriately as medical students, and most medical students with behaviour problems will not become professional miscreants.”
  • “professionalism — like any other area — must be modelled, taught and assessed for all students, and that no student or doctor is immune to lapses in behaviour”
• MJA 2004 - Time for hard decisions on patient-centred professionalism
  • “Patients want doctors who are competent, respectful, honest and able to communicate with them. That is patient-centred professionalism.”
  • a look at what is happening in the UK.