The anaesthetists and distinction awards

Summary The author retired from active practice as a consultant anaesthetist in the british National Health Service during 1980 at the age of 60. He kept a detailed diary for the last full year as a consultant. One of the editors suggested that the diary, augmented by his considered views culled from the experiences of a professional lifetime, could form the basis of a series of essays on various aspects of the life and practice a, a consultant anaesthetist during the second half of the twentieth century. This essay considers the history and me cranks of the distribution of distinction awards in the British National Health Service as it has affected anaesthetists.