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Douglas D. Lind, MD
St Elizabeth's Hospital American Medical Association Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs Boston, Mass

JAMA. 1989;262(23):3269.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

THE JOURNAL continues to challenge the status quo and stimulate professional introspection. I have just read the commentary by Dr Moore¹ entitled "The Need for a Patient Advocate." Never have I felt so offended by a colleague. As a senior medical resident, I have spent 7 challenging and rewarding years in an attempt to become a physician. What, may I ask, is any physician if not foremost a patient advocate? Am I naive?

The profession of medicine is under siege on many fronts. I, too, share many of Dr Moore's concerns about the new conflicting roles that physicians are increasingly asked to play. It seems clear to me that only by the vigilant preservation of a patient advocacy role for all physicians will we ever weather the storm. When did we throw in the towel? . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Footnotes
Edited by Drummond Rennie, MD, Deputy Editor (West), and Don Riesenberg, MD, Senior Editor.

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