Authority factor in medicine: Authoritarian relationships and authority figures

Authority is defined as the possibility of one of the parties in social relationships to enable other party to obey himself. Basing on this main definition, it is possible to name the stated situation as authoritarian relationship and the person having the chance to enforce obedience as the authority figure. There are various authoritarian relationships and many authority figures in medicine which has idiosyncratic complex hierarchies. In this context, authority factor influences behaviors of health professionals and deserves to be in the concern of medical ethics. On the other hand, there are few works concerning concept of authority in medical ethics literature and discussions that can be made on this concern are carried out basing on the concept of autonomy. The term "paternalism" is frequently used and it means the approaches of authority figures. However, it cannot be said that this term has a meaning equivalent to the full authority factor in medicine. The purpose of this study is to call attention to the authority factor in medicine and to present authority figures and authoritarian relationships in different aspects of medicine as a whole. To this end, after relaying general information relating authority, the study emphasizes the impact of the medicine itself and the medical institutions on health professionals and the community; authority in health professional-patient-community relationships; authority in medical education and research activities; external authorities on medical and health professionals and lastly, medical ethics and authority relationships in medicine. Key words: Authority, authority in medicine, medical dominance, medical ethics