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2 - Ethical and legal responsibilities of medical students

Kerry J. Breen ,
Stephen M. Cordner ,
Colin J. H. Thomson  and
Vernon D. Plueckhahn
Kerry J. Breen
Affiliation:
National Health and Medical Research Council
Stephen M. Cordner
Affiliation:
Monash University, Victoria
Colin J. H. Thomson
Affiliation:
University of Wollongong, New South Wales
Vernon D. Plueckhahn
Affiliation:
Monash University, Victoria
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Summary

There are legal and ethical considerations even for students planning to enrol in medical school. After enrolment, from the point of first contact with patients in year 1 in many medical courses, many of the ethical and legal responsibilities of doctors also apply to medical students. Most of this book is thus of relevance to medical students, relevance that increases progressively as clinical training and patient contact increase. The curricula of all Australian medical schools provide information about these ethical and legal responsibilities and the schools aim to develop appropriate attitudes in students. Some Australian medical schools have adopted the practice of medical students taking an oath of ethical commitment at the time of graduating. There is new evidence that behavioural attitudes at medical school can strongly predict subsequent professional conduct that has been the subject of disciplinary actions by medical boards against practising doctors. This evidence adds emphasis to the need for early introduction of education in regard to expected professional standards. Stressful ethical issues peculiar to the life of medical students are also discussed in this chapter, together with a new code of ethics developed by the Australian Medical Students Association (AMSA) and issues around medical student health. Career choices in medicine are discussed in Chapter 16.

CONSIDERATIONS BEFORE ENROLMENT

Australian medical courses leading to the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB BS), or its equivalent, are designed to prepare graduates with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for the provisional registration year (also known as the intern year or postgraduate year 1).

Type
Chapter
Information
Good Medical Practice
Professionalism, Ethics and Law
 , pp. 18 - 32
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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