Dr Aaron Madhok reflects on his time working in Africa

Poor communication between doctors lies at the heart of many complaints, claims and disciplinary actions. Dr Mark Dinwoodie, consultant in medical education, explains the importance of maintaining good relationships with colleagues and communicating effectively with other health professionals

Dr James Thorpe, Medicolegal Adviser at Medical Protection, reflects on a common issue where junior doctors are asked to perform roles outside their competence, in particular taking informed consent for surgical procedures and other invasive investigations

Dr Ben White, a Medical Protection Medicolegal Adviser, discusses the use of chaperones during intimate examinations

Foundation doctors are increasingly using social media and smartphone apps to communicate with each other and senior colleagues. While this has many advantages, there are pitfalls to consider. Dr James Thorpe, Medicolegal Adviser at Medical Protection, investigates.

In this series we explore the key risk areas in general practice

Dr Hajra Siraj, GP registrar in London, shares a tricky case around assessing the competence of young people.

The GMC has begun revalidating all doctors – here’s what you need to know

Over half of respondents to an MPS survey admitted to regret over their failure to raise concerns in the workplace. Gareth Gillespie looks at how obstacles to whistleblowing can be overcome.

When treating a patient who has reached the end of life, clear communication and collective decision-making are as important as any clinical intervention, says Sarah Whitehouse

All doctors know that maintaining confidentiality is an important part of building up trust with patients. Here, Dr Stephanie Bown examines the medicolegal aspects of confidentiality

Sometimes, when an adverse incident occurs, the GMC can take action if a doctor’s fitness to practise is called into question, which could be due to:

It is one of the great ironies that healthcare professionals are, generally, poor at taking care of their own health. Yet it is one of the core set of guidelines in Good Medical Practice that you have a responsibility to look after your health - if not for your own sake, then at least for your patients.

It is perhaps an understatement to say that teamwork is integral to the safe delivery of care within medicine, and the professional approach to good teamwork centres on good communication, mutual respect for others and proactively responding to any deficiencies in the team.

The GMC and the doctor in question are both invited to attend. The GMC is normally represented at the hearing by a barrister and the doctor is usually present and legally represented. Both parties may call witnesses to give evidence, who may be crossexamined by the other party. The Panel may also put questions to the witnesses.

According to a recent study, patients displaying ‘difficult’ behaviour increase GPs’ risk of getting a diagnosis wrong. Kirsty Plowman reports

Medical Protection is committed to speaking up for members and raising concerns at the highest level.