ABSTRACT
It is certainly possible to practise medicine in the absence of an Inner Physician, or, more accurately, in denial of its presence. In many ways, the Inner Physician represents in medicine the same idea that Einstein found he had to introduce into classical Newtonian physics - the observer effect. Applying the same principle, reflective practice for the Inner Physician means creating a narrative that links experience, emotion, meaning and behaviour into a coherent story ready for our patients to set in resonance. Poised attentiveness is the state of mind - quiet enough and vigilant enough - in which the voice of the Inner Physician is most clearly heard without its having to shout. As long as there is a significant cadre that appreciates that science- based consolation calls for the involvement of the whole doctor - trained and Inner Physicians - the balance between science and humanity can be preserved.
