An Evaluation of Changes in the Medical Standard of Care

When a layman is charged with negligence, his conduct is compared with the conduct to be expected from that familiar fictional person-the reasonable and prudent man under the same or similar circumstances.\u27 The defendant\u27s special knowledge or skill is only one of the circumstances to be considered; another is the customary practice of those similarly situated. In the field of medical negligence, however, the conduct of other physicians becomes extremely important. The standard of care to which doctors will be held is determined to a large extent by fellow practitioners