--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician…" description: "\"“old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the considerations of profit and personal gain that could so disfigure medicine. That doctors sho..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/alexander-mccall-smith-372_doctor_old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician_7411.jpg" --- # old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the… ![“old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the considerations of profit and personal gain that could so disfigure medicine. That doctors should consider themselves businessmen was, Isabel had always felt, a moral tragedy for medicine.” quote by Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/alexander-mccall-smith-372_doctor_old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician_7411.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/alexander-mccall-smith-372_doctor_old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician_7411.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8be/alexander-mccall-smith-372_doctor_old-fashioned-gentle-scottish-physician_7411.jpg) > ““old-fashioned, gentle Scottish physician, unmoved by the considerations of profit and personal gain that could so disfigure medicine. That doctors should consider themselves businessmen was, Isabel had always felt, a moral tragedy for medicine.”” [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the ethical conflict when doctors prioritize profit over patient care, suggesting that commercial motives erode the noble purpose of medicine. **In simple terms:** Medicine should stay patient‑focused, not profit‑driven. Key Takeaway Profit motives can corrupt medical ethics. Themes medical ethics professionalism commercialization patient care moral integrity Mood concerned reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - hospital administration decisions - private practice pricing - policy debates on healthcare funding Key Concepts doctor’s role financial incentives healthcare values Practical Applications - Developing ethics training for clinicians - Designing non‑profit healthcare models Questions to Reflect On - How does financial pressure affect clinical judgment? - What safeguards can preserve patient‑centered care? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Businessmen Isabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/businessmen-isabel-327618/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Gentle Scottish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gentle-scottish-327621/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Moral Tragedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-tragedy-327620/) [Personal gain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-gain/) [Scottish Physician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scottish-physician-327617/) [Tragedy Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragedy-medicine-327619/) ## Related quotes > [It is part of the moral tragedy with which we are dealing that words like 'democracy,' 'freedom,' 'rights,' 'justice,' which have so often inspired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-angell/it-is-part-of-the-moral-tragedy-with-which-we-are-dealing-that-words/) [Norman Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-angell/) > [Even diseases have lost their prestige, there aren't so many of them left. 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