ABSTRACT
Alongside public concerns over the humanistic side of healthcare, expectations exist that physicians fulfil the role of a scientist, at least as a scientist-scholar.1 However, it has to be asked what exactly does the public mean by wanting the physician to possess the role of scientist? It is, after all, unclear just how many people want their personal physician to be a 'medical scientist', rather than just being up to date on medical science. Attitudes towards one's personal physician - which can vary according to the severity of the illness - have long reflected or fallen between two well-staked-out, contrasting positions. One position is unquestioned acceptance that medical scientists are central to medicine, which must be practised on the basis of science. This embraces expectations that, in time, medical science will fill gaps in our current knowledge of diseases and cures. The second position, one always hovering in popular culture, questions the motives and integrity of medical scientists, who are often stereotyped as cold and aloof, and ready to 'experiment' on patients.2
