What to do with the GMC
Editor - As medical students, relatives and friends consider us to be omniscient about all things medical. Questions they may ask vary from, in my first year, "Why did my doctor prescribe ranitidine for my heart attack?" to more recently, "I'm sure my GP touched my genitals when he examined me-is he a pervert? Can I sue him? That 'doctor' in the Daily Star says I should go to the GMC."
This latter question is usually followed by a torrent of abuse towards any surgeon unfortunate enough to live in, or to have ever lived in, Bristol and any gynaecologist with an American accent. Sometimes even more disturbingly this is followed by "Don't worry; it's only those Paki doctors that do these things... not that I'm racist."
A scathing attack on the General Medical Council is also usually included, with recitals of tabloid headlines like "GMC old boys network," "GMC protects one eyed doctors," and "GMC has pact with Lucifer." Public opinion has swiftly moved against the GMC and, as expected, every vote-hungry MP has jumped on the bandwagon. Even our esteemed leader Alan Milburn says, "The GMC has to set its own house in order and its got to get on with it," and though still keenly aware of the NHS vote he "believes professional self regulation is the right thing."
I have no doubt that substantial changes to the GMC will occur in the near future following these media hyped cases. I am also sure that whatever changes do occur, they will have a larger impact on present medical students than on Donald Irvine and Ian Bogle, who will surely be retired before the new system gets going. So I decided to gather the opinion of what should be done from fellow medical students.
Starting with some first years I asked their opinion of the GMC. After an initial glazed look, one said, "They're great-I joined them at the freshers' fair and got a free dictionary, and I think I get a free bag next year!" This led me to ponder why so many medical organizations used three letter acronyms.
Moving on to a group of second years leaving a lecture theatre, I was pleasantly surprised to find they had just had an ethics lecture on the GMC. They informed me that apparently there was also another very similar three letter acronym that punished crimes against teeth-very worthwhile. I was then told that the GMC was the utilitarian guardian of doctors protecting their rights to non-maleficence, beneficence, and virtue theory. Unfortunately, when I asked what this meant they all had to rush off for an anatomy tutorial (apparently one had been squeezed in between the week's sociology, psychology, and ethics lectures).
Lastly I decided to ask some final year students and, after much searching, I found some of the least cynical in the year. The first said, "Yes, I went to the GMC once, wore my old school tie, you know they have an excellent selection of whiskeys," and the second went into a blind panic, saying she wasn't on take last night and knew nothing about any missing catheters.
After this failure to gather much information I decided to consult the foremost opinion on medical ethics. This of course is Laura Spence, the girl from a state school in the north, who has more influence over the government and media than the whole of the BMA. Unfortunately she was unable the comment. Apparently Harvard is making her take etiquette lessons before admitting someone from "up north."
James Halpern, third year medical student, University of Birmingham
Email: James_Halpern@hotmail.com
studentBMJ 2000;08:303-346 September ISSN 0966-6494
