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A recent editorial in the CMAJ1 used notorious British family physician and serial murderer Harold Shipman as an example of how “professional malfeasance” wrought by physicians has eroded public confidence in physicians. While I could not agree more that public confidence and trust in physicians are the cornerstones of the physician– patient relationship, I challenge your assertion that “confidence in physicians is waning.”
Physicians in Canada continue to be described as very trustworthy2 in surveys designed to measure how much various professionals are trusted by the public. Being identified as one of the most trustworthy professions, along with nurses and pharmacists, is not an honour either bestowed or received lightly.
Canadian advocacy and regulatory bodies have reaffirmed the need for maintaining the highest possible ethical standards, physician competence and lifelong learning. Perhaps most importantly, a new era of openness and transparency has begun, with increased public representation on the governing councils of the colleges of physicians and surgeons and regular, publicly accessible reports on disciplinary actions and investigations.
The Shipman case represents a tragic episode in the history of medicine, and as physicians we all recoil at the horror and pain this individual caused. However, raising the spectre of a mass murderer in relation to Canada's system of medical self regulation is inaccurate and unduly alarmist.