Before World War II, the great majority of practising doctors in England and Wales were general practitioners. They performed their own surgery, and were accustomed to treating a wide variety of illnesses and symptoms.

Introduction, Part I. TH E PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND, 1. Foundations of Modern Medical Practice 1700-1858, 2. Medical Practice 1858-1914, 3. Development of the Specialties 1914-1939, 4. Problems of Medical Practice in the Late 1930s, Part II. SPECIALISM, GENERALISM, AND THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE ACT, 5. The Design of a National Health Service, 6. The Medical Profession and the Appointed Day, 7. The Two Branches: Postwar Realignments 1948-1950, 8. Specialism and the Royal Colleges in the 1940s, Part III. EMERGING PROBLEMS: TH E NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE 1948-1961, 9. Determination of Incomes, 10. Problems of Hospital Medical Staffing, 11. Changes in General Practice: The Question of Status, 12. The National Health Service as an Educational Structure, Part IV. TH E IMPACT OP THE NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE ON MEDICAL PRACTICE: THE 1960s, 13. Employment in the National Health Service, 14. The Consultant, the National Health Service, and the Place of Private Practice, 15. The Distinction Awards System, 16. The Machinery of Planning and the Distribution of Doctors, 17. Medical Manpower: Responsibility and Definition, Part V. TH E MEDICAL PROFESSION, 18. Professional Participation in the National Health Service Structure, 19. The British Medical Association and the Royal Colleges, 20. Professional Differences and Financial Differentials 1962-1964, 21. Arbitration of Incomes: Substitute for Planning?, Part VI. SPECIALIZATION: PROBLEMS AT THE MID-1960S, 22. Problems in Medical Education and Training, 23. Specialties in the 1960s: New Dimensions, 24. Review and Prospect