Some of the problems facing the American medical profession today stem from an underlying cultural phenomenon--the evolution of the image of the doctor as an omnipotent and infallible individual. It is an image that is held by both doctors and patients alike. The behavior elicited by patient's awe, asserts Malmsheimer, becomes counterproductive when doctors are no longer able to admit their mistakes and limitations because their patients, conditioned to an ideal image, demand continuous proof of a doctor's infallibility. This volume examines the origins and evolution of the distorted and...