Abstract

This chapter discusses the relationship between doctor and patient. This refers to the central and basic relationship between doctor and patient that rests solely on the fact that one is a patient and the other is a doctor. The chapter looks at the physician as a person, what defines a good physician, and the relation between trust and altruism. The final portion of the chapter centers on self-discipline, which is necessary not only for thoroughness, but also for the maintenance of knowledge, constancy to patients, and nerve.