The Physician's Tale has one of the poorest critical reputations of any of the Canterbury Tales. Consult the explanatory notes in the Riverside Chaucer, pages 901-2, for a preliminary bibliography.
Some readers object to a disparity between the tale and the teller, and these objections--although they invite a critical shortcut that assumes a certain standard of narrative "realism" (e.g., that people tell stories characteristic of their personalities)--are useful indications of what modern readers think medieval physicians were supposed to be like.
Before tackling issues relating the tale to the Physician, consult the Riverside notes on the portrait of the "Doctor of Physic" in the General Prologue, pages 815-16. Note that Chaucer is thought to have satirized the physician's love of gold and his general disregard for spiritual values in favor of material comfort.
1/98