McCartney highlights the situations in which kindness is not as simple as being interpersonally pleasant to a patient or colleague.1 This is an important distinction, but it is erroneous to say that, as a governing body, the General Medical Council should not make recommendations that doctors are kind. The Cambridge Dictionary defines being kind as being “generous, helpful, and thinking about other people’s feelings.” A health system in which doctors do not exhibit these traits is worse for both patients and colleagues.Kindness is impossible to objectively measure, but we can make a reasonable assessment of whether someone has attempted to act in a kind manner. Using the example of withholding a benzodiazepine prescription, it is clear to see how this can be a kind act, by not exposing patients to potential addiction or debilitating side effects. The GMC seems to be aware of this when it states that doctors should…
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