A medical student has no duty to refrain from repeating a clinical instructor’s comments except for patient-revealing elements. He may, in fact, have a duty to repeat those remarks to someone who can correct the instructor.
Transparency about teaching hospitals’ educational mission respects patient autonomy and aligns patients’ interests with those of trainees and the public.
AMA J Ethics. 2017;19(6):537-543. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.6.ecas1-1706.
Industrialized nations could benefit from strategies emerging in developing nations such as respectful collaboration between traditional out-of-hospital birthing practices and maternity units in partnering hospitals.
The causes of many health behaviors are deeply rooted in our culture, and using a counseling model that assumes individual control and responsibility for these behaviors can cause patients to feel hectored instead of helped.
Medical educators must become aware of undesirable behaviors or attitudes that they may inadvertently be modeling to students in the clinic because the implicit messages students receive can profoundly affect their behavior and interactions with patients.
AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(2):142-146. doi:
10.1001/virtualmentor.2015.17.2.jdsc1-1502.