Doctors after Hours: Physicians as Citizens

Individual physicians have built society’s trust in the profession over the centuries by putting patients’ needs before their own interests, holding our health records and family histories in confidence, and applying their specialized knowledge and expertise to our care. This month’s issue asks whether doctors must carry the privilege—and burden—of that trust with them 24/7. Must they conduct themselves as professionals wherever they are, whatever they are doing? And what happens when a doctor “cashes in on” society’s trust to further a nonprofessional cause?

Volume 13, Number 10: 679-746 Full Issue PDF
  • From the Editor
    Oct 2011

    The Physician as an Evolving Moral Actor

    Steve Y. Lee, MD
    Are we to assume that moral excellence comes automatically with one’s medical education?
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):681-683. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.fred1-1110.
  • Case and Commentary
    Oct 2011

    "...Not as I Do," Commentary 1

    Stephanie Toth, MD
    Does a physician who observes a colleague acting unprofessionally have a duty to speak to that colleague about the unprofessional behavior?
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):684-687. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.ccas1-1110.
  • Case and Commentary
    Oct 2011

    "...Not as I Do," Commentary 2

    Sonja Boone, MD
    Does a physician who observes a colleague acting unprofessionally have a duty to speak to that colleague about the unprofessional behavior?
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):687-689. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.ccas1-1110.
  • Case and Commentary
    Oct 2011

    Physicians and Political Advocacy, Commentary 1

    Thomas A. Bledsoe, MD
    Physicians have the same political rights as every U.S. citizen, but they must balance these freedoms with their ethical responsibilities to patients, not exploit respect for the profession to advocate for causes unrelated to medicine.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):690-692. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.ccas2-1110.
  • Case and Commentary
    Oct 2011

    Physicians and Political Advocacy, Commentary 2

    Grayson W. Armstrong
    Physicians may involve themselves in political advocacy as long as it does not damage patient relationships or erode access to health care. They may, in fact, have an obligation to do so.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):692-696. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.ccas2-1110.
  • Case and Commentary
    Oct 2011

    When Patients Worry about the Doctor

    Jan Miller, MD
    A physician who is undergoing a setback in his or her private life can reassure patients and avoid losing their respect by maintaining a professional demeanor in the office.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):697-699. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.ccas3-1110.
  • Health Law
    Oct 2011

    Home or Hospital: Your Medical Board Is Watching

    Valarie Blake, JD, MA
    State medical boards, which work to protect the public through careful issuing, suspension, and revocation of medical licenses, have been criticized for both over- and underdisciplining physicians.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):707-711. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.hlaw1-1110.
  • Policy Forum
    Oct 2011

    Criminal Convictions and Medical Licensure

    Herbert Rakatansky, MD
    State medical boards, tend to follow social policy as expressed in U.S. law, which designates moral turpitude outside the clinic as a cause for restricting professional licenses.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):712-717. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.pfor1-1110.
  • Medicine and Society
    Oct 2011

    Judging Doctors: The Person and the Professional

    Nadia N. Sawicki, JD, MBe
    If society values physicians because they possess valuable clinical skills and exercise those skills with a fiduciary ethic of care toward their patients, we ought to evaluate physicians on those grounds directly, rather than looking to their behavior “after hours.”
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):718-722. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.msoc1-1110.
  • Personal Narrative
    Oct 2011

    Reconnecting to the Moral Core of the Profession

    Diane Plantz, MD
    Physicians’ job satisfaction could be increased by reconnecting with the healing purpose at the core of the profession.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):723-725. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.mnar1-1110
  • Viewpoint
    Oct 2011

    The Risks of Professional Protest

    Ford Vox, MD
    Whether a physician fancies herself a member of the Green Party or the Tea Party, he or she must obey our government’s rules in her advocacy for that cause and be extremely diligent in those increasingly rare instances when she feels herself compelled not to do so.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):726-730. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.oped1-1110
  • Viewpoint
    Oct 2011

    Doctors’ Responsibility to Reduce Discrimination against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender People

    Stephen Rivoli, MPH, MA, CPHQ
    The profession of medicine is duty-bound to further the best interests of the public. If evidence suggests that discrimination based on sexual orientation or denial of civil marriage to GLBT couples has adverse effects on their health, physicians must oppose such practices, regardless of their personal biases.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):731-735. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.oped2-1110.
  • Letter to the Editor
    Oct 2011

    The Role of Retail Clinics in Today’s Medical Care

    Gregory Judd
    A letter to the editor in response to the 2010 Bander Essay Contest winning entry about retail clinics.
    Virtual Mentor. 2011;13(10):736-737. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2011.13.10.corr1-1110.