ABSTRACT
Medicine faces many ethical problems, but perhaps two of the most significant at present are: public concern about standards of practice and the orientation and values of practitioners; and poor morale among doctors, evidenced by problems in recruitment and retention as well as dissatisfaction among established practitioners. This chapter focuses on one specific issue at the heart of general practice (GP), dealing with patients 'who are or who believe themselves to be ill'. It provides some of the stories to explore the boundaries of what the virtuous GP should take on and also to test the more general hypothesis that virtue ethics, coupled with this type of qualitative research method, offers a useful way to develop primary care ethics. The philosophical exploration of these stories has been done by solitary reflection. These stories show how doctors face moral challenges similar to those faced by other people.
