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Key Attributes and Duties of a Doctor

The core professional duties expected of every registered doctor — as defined by the GMC and reinforced by the Royal College of Psychiatrists — and how to apply them in everyday clinical practice.

Important Update Notice: This article was originally written by Dr Satvir Singh in December 2007 and reflects the structure and language of the GMC's Good Medical Practice as it stood at that time. The GMC significantly updated Good Medical Practice in January 2013 and again in January 2024. The 2024 version introduces four revised domains and a stronger emphasis on patient safety, leadership, equality and diversity, and doctors' personal health. The core professional values described in this article remain accurate and relevant, but readers are strongly encouraged to consult the current version at gmc-uk.org to ensure they are familiar with the current guidance.

Introduction

The General Medical Council (GMC) regularly publishes and reminds all registered doctors of their professional duties. The respective Royal Colleges, through their Departments of Postgraduate Educational Services, also reinforce the need to maintain a good standard of practice and care.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists advises, publishes, and monitors each member's participation in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme, issuing a certificate each year to members who have undertaken and completed the expected educational and other professional activities.

The College first published Good Psychiatric Practice: CPD in 2001 and has since regularly followed up each registered member's progress in maintaining their existing knowledge and skills, developing new knowledge and skills, and remedying any deficits in their knowledge and skills base.

The College expects that each doctor and each member must adhere to the basic duties of a doctor as outlined by the GMC. As stated in the foundational text of Good Medical Practice:

"Patients must be able to trust doctors with their lives and well-being. To justify that trust, the profession has a duty to maintain a good standard of practice and care and to show respect for human life."

The Core Duties of a Doctor (GMC — Original Framework)

In particular, doctors must:

  • Make the care of patients their first concern
  • Treat every patient politely and considerately
  • Respect patients' dignity and privacy
  • Listen to patients and respect their views
  • Give patients information in a way they can understand
  • Respect the right of patients to be fully involved in decisions about their care
  • Keep their professional knowledge and skills up to date
  • Recognise the limits of their professional competence
  • Be honest and trustworthy
  • Respect and protect confidential information
  • Make sure that their personal beliefs do not prejudice their patients' care
  • Act quickly to protect patients from risk if they have good reason to believe that they or a colleague may not be fit to practise
  • Avoid abusing their position as a doctor
  • Work with colleagues in the ways that best serve patients' interests

In all these matters, doctors must never discriminate unfairly against their patients or colleagues. They must always be prepared to justify their actions.

The 2024 GMC Good Medical Practice — Four Domains

The 2024 revision of Good Medical Practice is structured around four domains, which all doctors should be familiar with:

  1. Knowledge, skills and performance — delivering safe and effective care, keeping up to date, recognising and working within the limits of your competence, and ensuring continuity of care.
  2. Safety and quality — protecting patients from harm, contributing to a culture of safety, raising concerns, and following systems and protocols.
  3. Communication, partnership and teamwork — sharing information with patients and colleagues, working collaboratively, being open and honest, and respecting patients' choices.
  4. Maintaining trust — acting with integrity, maintaining professional boundaries, managing your own health, and ensuring your behaviour does not undermine patients' trust in doctors.

The 2024 guidance also introduces clearer expectations around leadership, equality, diversity and inclusion, and doctors' own health and wellbeing. All doctors are encouraged to read the full updated guidance at gmc-uk.org.

Applying Good Medical Practice in the Clinical Setting

To put the above into clinical practice, there are some key principles that must be followed almost all of the time:

  • Always be on time for your patient
  • Allow time for the patient to ask questions and raise any concerns they may have
  • Do not rush the patient out of your room or rush out of their home after a home visit
  • Explain clearly what you mean by the diagnosis, its treatment, outcome, and overall prognosis
  • Advise about any side effects the patient should know about, and what action to take if they experience them
  • Provide written information about the investigations, procedures, or treatments you are proposing
  • Advise about the next appointment — with whom and where
  • Give emergency contact details to the patient and/or family members
  • Seek the patient's consent as to who else you may contact or inform about their health matters

Above all, maintain the right attitude and professionalism in looking after your patient and in all other related clinical work. When in doubt, talk to your colleagues, peers, or seniors. Do not forget to uphold the dignity, respect, and confidentiality of your patient at all times.

Continuing Professional Development in Psychiatry

The Royal College of Psychiatrists requires all members to participate in a structured CPD programme. CPD activities are recorded annually and must encompass:

  • Maintenance of existing knowledge and skills relevant to current clinical practice
  • Development of new knowledge and skills — for example, through attending conferences, undertaking e-learning modules, or completing research
  • Remedying identified deficits in knowledge or skills through targeted learning

Evidence of CPD is essential for revalidation, which all licensed doctors in the UK must undergo every five years with their responsible officer. Revalidation is based on an annual appraisal process and requires doctors to demonstrate they meet the standards of Good Medical Practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Good Medical Practice and why does it matter?

Good Medical Practice (GMP) is the GMC's core guidance document that sets out the standards all registered doctors in the UK must meet to remain on the medical register. It defines what it means to be a good doctor and provides the framework against which a doctor's fitness to practise is assessed. Every doctor should read and be familiar with the current version, as it underpins revalidation, appraisal, and any fitness to practise proceedings.

What does it mean to "raise a concern" under GMC guidance?

Under GMP (2024), all doctors have a professional duty to raise a concern if they believe that patient safety is at risk or that an individual, organisation, or system is placing patients at risk of harm. This includes concerns about a colleague's conduct, health, or performance; about systems or policies; or about anything else that may jeopardise patient safety. Concerns should normally be raised first through local channels (e.g. your medical director or governance team). If local channels are inadequate, concerns can be raised with the GMC, the Care Quality Commission, or another regulatory body.

How does confidentiality apply when a psychiatric patient discloses information about risk to others?

While confidentiality is a core professional duty, it is not absolute. The GMC guidance on confidentiality (updated 2017, with supplementary guidance) states that disclosure without consent may be justified to protect the patient or others from serious harm — particularly where there is a risk of serious violence or homicide. In such cases, the public interest in protecting others may outweigh the patient's right to confidentiality. Before disclosing, you should consider whether the harm is serious, real, and imminent; whether it could be prevented without disclosure; and whether other means of protection have been exhausted. You should document your reasoning carefully and, if possible, discuss with a senior colleague or your medical defence organisation.

What is revalidation and how does it affect psychiatrists?

Revalidation is the process by which all licensed doctors in the UK demonstrate to the GMC, through annual appraisal and five-yearly revalidation, that they are up to date and fit to practise. It requires doctors to collect and reflect on evidence of their practice including: continuing professional development, quality improvement activity, significant events and complaints, feedback from colleagues, and feedback from patients. For psychiatrists, this includes evidence of participation in the Royal College of Psychiatrists' CPD programme and engagement with clinical supervision and peer review.

What should I do if I am concerned that a colleague may not be fit to practise?

Under GMP, you have a duty to act if you believe a patient is or could be put at risk by a colleague's conduct, performance, or health — even if this is difficult. You should first try to address the concern locally, through your clinical director, medical director, or responsible officer. If the concern is not addressed adequately, or if there is an immediate risk to patient safety, you should consider referring to the GMC. All doctors have access to confidential support through the Practitioner Health Programme (PHP) for concerns about a colleague's health, including mental health and addiction.

For an ST3 interview — how would you describe the key attributes of a good doctor?

A strong answer would reference the four domains of GMP (2024): knowledge, skills and performance; safety and quality; communication, partnership and teamwork; and maintaining trust. You would also demonstrate understanding of the importance of reflective practice, ongoing CPD, working within the limits of competence, raising concerns appropriately, and maintaining professional boundaries. Giving a specific clinical example of how you have applied these principles — for example, how you handled a difficult communication or raised a patient safety concern — will demonstrate that the values are embedded in your practice rather than merely learned for interview.

Does GMC guidance apply differently in psychiatry compared to other specialties?

The core duties in GMP apply equally to all registered doctors. However, psychiatry has some additional dimensions that require particular attention: confidentiality in the context of risk to self or others; the use of the Mental Health Act to treat patients without consent; the management of professional boundaries in therapeutic relationships; and the potential for stigma and discrimination to affect the quality of care given to patients with mental illness. The Royal College of Psychiatrists provides supplementary guidance on many of these areas through its Good Psychiatric Practice (4th edition) and associated College Reports.

References

  1. General Medical Council. Good Medical Practice (2024 edition). gmc-uk.org.
  2. General Medical Council. Confidentiality: Good Practice in Handling Patient Information. GMC, 2017.
  3. Royal College of Psychiatrists. Good Psychiatric Practice (4th ed). Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2009.
  4. Royal College of Psychiatrists. Good Psychiatric Practice: CPD. Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2001 (updated regularly).
  5. General Medical Council. Raising and Acting on Concerns about Patient Safety. GMC, 2012.
  6. Semple D, Smyth R. Oxford Handbook of Psychiatry (4th ed). Oxford University Press, 2019.
  7. Gelder M, Harrison P, Cowen P. Shorter Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry (6th ed). Oxford University Press, 2010.