ABSTRACT
The core values of the practice, together with its collective experience and corporate culture, lead to a practice's identity. Groupthink is a state that any close-knit group of people can get into where their desire to stick together and not rock the boat, overrides their motivation to think clearly and objectively. The group is seen as invulnerable and never wrong, and outsiders are seen with a degree of suspicion. It will be hard to express a view that goes against the 'party line' and so there is an illusion of unanimity. In many practices, the ethos is not labelled as such, being more an unspoken framework of norms within which members operate, without ever being put into words. The practice may be friendly, caring and hard-working; or disorganised stressed, paranoid and grumpy; respecting the rights of professionals and patients; or self-centred with everyone for themselves. Primary care group vary in their structure and workload.
