A patient under anaesthesia is in the most vulnerable position
Rapid response to:
Education And Debate
The ethics of intimate examinations—teaching tomorrow's doctorsCommentary: Respecting the patient's integrity is the keyCommentary: Teaching pelvic examination—putting the patient first
A patient under anaesthesia is in the most vulnerable position
A "sleeping" patient under anaesthesia is probably in the most
vulnerable position imaginable. Performing intimate examinations for
teaching purposes, through which no benefit accrues to the patient, can
only mean taking undue advantage of this vulnerability, and amounts to
unethical practice.
The second point is, that the medical student is likely to get carried
away by the ease of such examinations, when the body is totally relaxed.
Only performing these examinations in a non-anaesthetised patient will
give the student the real feel of the physical resistance offered during
such examinations. Only then can a student develop the required clinical
skills.
Rapid Response:
A patient under anaesthesia is in the most vulnerable position
A "sleeping" patient under anaesthesia is probably in the most
vulnerable position imaginable. Performing intimate examinations for
teaching purposes, through which no benefit accrues to the patient, can
only mean taking undue advantage of this vulnerability, and amounts to
unethical practice.
The second point is, that the medical student is likely to get carried
away by the ease of such examinations, when the body is totally relaxed.
Only performing these examinations in a non-anaesthetised patient will
give the student the real feel of the physical resistance offered during
such examinations. Only then can a student develop the required clinical
skills.
Dr Rema Mathew.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests