The job of a doctor is not necessarily to be kind

Kindness has made an appearance in the General Medical Council’s updated guidance Good Medical Practice, published last week. This is our lodestone, the thing doctors are meant to do in order to stop us from being complained about, reported, and struck off. “Treating patients with kindness, compassion, and respect can profoundly shape their experience of care,” says the GMC. It tells us to listen to patients and work in partnership with them. Indeed, not just patients: “You must treat colleagues with kindness, courtesy, and respect.” Sure, the GMC does say that this does not mean that we should agree to “every request or withhold information that may be ‘upsetting or unwelcome’”—but, seriously?Kindness is a word that has become weaponised. It is particularly toxic when filtered through social media and aimed at women. I used to think that kindness was indeed where the NHS should focus, given the routine carelessness and…
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