GMC Good Medical Practice / duties of a doctor
What it means
The GMC's standards: make the care of the patient your first concern; provide a good standard of practice; keep knowledge/skills up to date; treat patients as individuals and respect their dignity; work in partnership (consent, honesty); act with honesty and integrity; never abuse trust. Breaches can lead to fitness-to-practise proceedings.
Worked example
A doctor who discovers a colleague is practising unsafely has a duty to act (raise concerns) to protect patients — patient safety over collegial loyalty.
In the exam
A doctor becomes aware that a colleague's practice is putting patients at risk and must decide whether to raise a concern.
What settles it
The duty to protect patients (raising concerns/whistleblowing) overrides collegial loyalty; failure to act can itself be a fitness-to-practise issue.
Classically confused with
Duty of candour
Source: GMC Good Medical Practice