First Person Singular: Why have we not Died Out Years Ago with our Careless Ways?

Abstract

This is the first of a series of occasional articles in which doctors, nurses and other therapists will be ‘coming clean’ about their own lifestyles. To launch the series, Sir Douglas Black, former President of the Royal College of Physicians, writes about the responsibility of doctors to set an example to others, but explains how in reality they are often thwarted by the pressures of their work. Sir Douglas goes on to write about his own lifestyle which, he admits, does not conform to any particular model