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Brody's interesting new book on medical ethics is the first to consider specifically the concept of power in the relationship between physician and patient. The physician's power is said to comprise three major elements: Aesculapian power, charismatic power, and social power.
Aesculapian power is that which a physician possesses by virtue of his or her special training in the art of medicine. This power is based in the physician's knowledge of a complex body of obscure facts, theories, and techniques. Aesculapian power is impersonal and independent of social status.
Charismatic power is, on the other hand, not at all impersonal. It is founded on the physician's personal qualities. What Brody has in mind here are such personality traits as courage, decisiveness, firmness, and kindness, which are often possessed by physicians and may, in some measure, be necessary for the pursuit of their craft.
Social power derives from the social status of the physician. It is the physician who has the unique authority to determine who is sick and who is well and to set into motion a complex of social roles and practices based on that determination. In general, physicians are drawn from the upper rungs of the socioeconomic ladder or soon attain those heights.