TY - JOUR T1 - Southgate’s sign JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 225 LP - 225 DO - 10.3399/bjgp22X719321 VL - 72 IS - 718 AU - Peter Toon Y1 - 2022/05/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/72/718/225.abstract N2 - When you are with a patient and you get a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, accompanied by a wish that you were somewhere else, you are probably facing an ethical problem. This link was pointed out to me by a friend and colleague Dame Lesley Southgate about 30 years ago, when we were teaching ethics to medical students together. Since as far as I know she was the first person to point out this association, I have dubbed it ‘Southgate’s sign’.Balint taught GPs and others that a clinician’s feelings can be an important guide to what is going on.1 Patients may present problems in terms of physical symptoms, but the clinician may experience frustration, anxiety, sadness, or a sense of being trapped, which reflect emotions the patient is feeling but not aware of, or is unable or unwilling to express. The link may not … ER -