In May 2008 the RCP along with the Kings fund published 'Understanding doctors: harnessing professionalism' which reports on 10 national consultation events asking doctors to reflect on their own future and the future of medical professionalism.
Background
The background for the King’s Fund and Royal College of Physicians (RCP) series Do Doctors Have a Future? lies in two reports on medical professionalism – On Being a Doctor:Redefining medical professionalism for better patient care (Rosen and Dewar 2004) and Doctors in Society: Medical professionalism in a changing world (RCP 2005). Many reports are quickly forgotten after publication, but the King’s Fund and the RCP were determined to disseminate their conclusions and recommendations as widely as possible and, just as importantly, to continue the debate beyond the confines of the written page.
Understanding doctors: harnessing professionalism is a product of that exercise – it brings together the views of nearly 800 doctors, patients, carers, nursing and allied health professionals, NHS managers, and medical students on issues of critical importance to the day-to-day practice of medicine, to improving standards, to facilitating team working, and to putting the needs of patients at the forefront of health care delivery.