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- Title
Beyond Professional Self-interest: Medical Ethics and the Disciplinary Function of the General Medical Council of the United Kingdom, 1858–1914.
- Authors
Maehle, Andreas-Holger
- Abstract
Traditional historiography tends to draw a negative picture of British doctors' ethics during the long nineteenth century. The medical professional ethics of this period have been described as self-serving and as a tool to monopolise the health care market. In this paper I attempt to challenge this rather one-sided view by looking into evidence for the practice of medical ethics, not just its normative texts. Focusing on the disciplinary function of the General Medical Council and discussing a variety of its cases, from fraudulent registration, sexual misconduct and breach of confidence to negligence, covering unqualified assistants and advertising, I argue that nineteenth-century medical ethics aimed at supporting the interests of patients and of the public at large as well as the reputation of the profession.
- Subjects
UNITED Kingdom; GENERAL Medical Council (Great Britain); DISCIPLINE of medical personnel; HISTORY of medical ethics; PHYSICIAN licenses; MEDICAL advertising
- Publication
Social History of Medicine, 2020, Vol 33, Issue 1, p41
- ISSN
0951-631X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/shm/hky072