We reviewed all the qualitative research studies that identified shame,guilt, humiliation or embarrassment in doctors, patients, and students in the UK between 1979 and 2023. A total of 160 papers were identified. This review provides the most comprehensive analysis of the evidence for negative self-conscious emotions in medicine to date, showing not just how it is experienced, but also how it contributes to adverse health outcomes, and compromises the quality of patient care. We demonstrated how patients experienced negative self-conscious emotions as a result of feeling flawed, which can be exacerbated by insensitive treatment or a perception of judgment. Similarly, doctors could experience negatives elf-conscious emotions due to perceived failures in patient care or a sense of inadequacy in their role. Rather than seeing negative self-conscious emotions as products of personal circumstance or poor practice, our critical analysis argues that they need to be seen as inevitable experiences of the system and practice of medicine, which changes how we should understand and address these feelings in policy and practice
Gibson, M., Kokab, F. & Williams, S.J. What role do negative self-conscious emotions play in UK medicine? A systematic review and qualitative synthesis of the evidence. SN Soc Sci 6, 106 (2026). Open Access.
