If a person who works as a doctor was just walking down the street he would have no responsibility to help a black person he saw in need of medical treatment because he isn't a doctor, he is just a person walking down the street. When he takes on the role of a doctor he has to fulfill it.
I
really disagree with this view and thankfully so does the General Medical Council in the UK (
Sheperd et al., 2006).
There are, however, moral and professional obligations for all doctors to act as Good Samaritans. The Hippocratic Oath states that a doctor has a special obligation to all fellow human beings and, in addition to the personal application of that broad principle, the General Medical Council enforce adherence to the ”Good Medical Practice’ guidelines. In particular, paragraph 9 states that: ”in an emergency, wherever it may arise, you must offer anyone at risk the assistance you could reasonably be expected to provide.’
5 A doctor failing to volunteer his/her services in a medical emergency, without exceptional circumstances, risks losing their registration as a practising professional, although we are not aware of this happening in the UK.
A person doesn't
stop being a doctor simply because they are not on call or at work.
There may be no legal obligation on them because of their status but their is a professional and ethical obligation precisely because they are doctors and not 'Joe public'. You take on the role of a doctor by gaining an MD and being, in the UK at least, registered with the GMC not by going to work.
TTFN,
WK
Edited by Wounded King, : Added link to GMC guidelines
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