Professionalism and the GMC

The GMC's central guidance is Good Medical Practice, updated in 2024, which sets out the principles, values and standards expected of every registered doctor. It is organised into four domains: knowledge, skills and development; patients, partnership and communication; colleagues, culture and safety; and trust and professionalism.

The first domain covers keeping knowledge and skills up to date, providing a good standard of care, and working within the limits of one's competence. The second covers treating patients with kindness and respect, supporting them to make decisions, and communicating well. The third covers working effectively with colleagues, contributing to a safe and fair culture, and raising concerns about safety. The fourth covers honesty and integrity, maintaining confidentiality and boundaries, declaring conflicts of interest, and behaving in a way that justifies public trust, including online. These standards are not optional extras: they are the basis of a doctor's registration, they inform revalidation, and serious or persistent departures from them can lead to action on a doctor's fitness to practise. The GMC expects doctors to use professional judgement in applying the standards, rather than to follow them mechanically.

Sport adds its own pressures to these standards. A team doctor often works in the public eye, and the same professional expectations apply whether they are at the clinic, at the pitch-side, or commenting in the media. When speaking publicly or writing in the media, a doctor must maintain patient confidentiality, and the fact that an athlete is well known does not reduce that duty. On social media, the standards do not change because the communication is online: a doctor should not share identifiable patient information without explicit consent, should be honest about who they are and any conflicts of interest, and should not use these platforms to abuse, discriminate against or harass others. Commercial pressures are common in sport, from sponsorship to product endorsements, and a doctor who endorses or advertises anything must ensure the information is factual, is not misleading, and does not exploit patients' lack of medical knowledge, must openly declare any payment or other interest, and must comply with advertising law and the relevant regulatory codes. Being factual is necessary but not sufficient on its own. Working within competence matters as much in sport as anywhere: a doctor should seek help or refer when a situation goes beyond their expertise, rather than pressing on because they are the doctor present. Independence is a recurring theme, and a doctor's clinical judgement should not be shaped by the interests of a club, a sponsor or a result, a point developed further in the material on dual loyalty.

Honesty sits at the centre of professionalism. A doctor must be honest and trustworthy in all their professional dealings, including with patients, colleagues, employers and the regulator, and this covers financial dealings, research, and how they represent their experience and qualifications. When something goes wrong with a patient's care, and it has caused harm or distress or has the potential to do so, the professional duty of candour requires the doctor to be open and honest: to tell the patient what happened, to apologise, and to explain the likely effects and what will be done to put things right. Where appropriate a suitable member of the team may lead that conversation, but the doctor must make sure it happens promptly rather than simply passing on the responsibility. An apology is not an admission of legal liability, and being open early is both the right thing to do and usually the best way to maintain trust. Doctors also have a duty to act on concerns about patient safety or about a colleague's conduct or health, raising them through the appropriate channels even when that is uncomfortable, and the 2024 guidance strengthens the expectation that doctors help to create a culture in which concerns can be raised safely.

Consider a team doctor who realises that a medication error has caused an athlete a minor but real harm. The professional response is to tell the athlete promptly and honestly, explain what happened and why, apologise, put right what can be put right, and record the event and the discussion. Hiding the error, or hoping it will not be noticed, would breach the duty of candour and would do far more damage to trust than the error itself. If the same doctor became aware that a colleague was working while unwell in a way that put athletes at risk, the professional course would be to raise that concern through the proper route rather than ignore it.

A frequent pitfall is assuming that professional standards relax outside the consulting room, when in fact they apply in the media, at events and on social media just as they do in clinic. Another is breaching confidentiality about a well-known athlete, perhaps by confirming a detail that is already the subject of speculation, in the mistaken belief that fame reduces the duty. Doctors sometimes let commercial interests blur their judgement, endorsing a product or accepting an arrangement without declaring the conflict or checking that any claims are accurate. Failing to be candid when something goes wrong, out of fear or embarrassment, is a serious error that usually compounds the original problem. Practising beyond one's competence, and not seeking help, is both a clinical and a professional risk. Finally, staying silent about a safety concern, rather than raising it through the proper channels, is itself a departure from good practice.

• •The GMC sets professional standards through Good Medical Practice, organised into four domains.
• •The same standards apply in clinic, in the media and on social media, including confidentiality.
• •Be honest and trustworthy in all dealings, including about experience, finances and advertising.
• •The duty of candour requires openness and an apology when something goes wrong.
• •Act on concerns about patient safety or a colleague through the appropriate channels.
• •Work within your competence, and maintain independence from commercial or team pressures.