P0299 - Protecting the residency training environment: A resident's perspective on the ethical boundries in the faculty-resident relationship

Abstract

Objective:

This paper explores ethical complexities that underlie resident-faculty relationships. The faculty-resident relationship is as complex as that between a therapist and his/her patient, but it has been far less well studied.

Methods:

From data obtained from psychiatry residents and faculty members regarding their experiences in this relationship, we present five vignettes that illustrate unethical conduct in the faculty-resident relationship.

Results:

Ethical lapses described in this paper are problematic for two reasons: first, personal and professional harm may come to individual residents who find themselves interacting with an errant faculty member; and second, ethical lapses have the potential to damage the overall training environment itself. Once the terms of the faculty-resident relationship are discussed and accepted by all participants, unintentional or inadvertent ethical problems will be prevented, and residents will be in a position to identify faculty behaviors that do not conform to these agreed-upon expectations

Conclusions:

This paper highlights the importance of incorporating education about ethical responsibilities and faculty-resident boundaries into the training curriculum. We offer suggestions for understanding faculty members' responsibilities to residents in their training programs.