Follow Informed Patient Consent in Clinical Teaching in Order to Achieve a Truly Patient-Centered Approach

Abstract

Patient- and disease-focused clinical teaching is considered the cornerstone of medical education. Current clinical teaching is increasingly taking place in outpatient settings, but this can cause discomfort to patients. Although many professional organizations have developed a set of ethical considerations in response to this issue to use these considerations to guide clinics in their outpatient procedures, these guidelines are not well adhered to in outpatient practice. My experience as an eczema patient in a dermatology outpatient is good evidence of this. In my opinion, there is nothing inherently wrong with the pedagogy of medical students observing clinical interactions in outpatient settings; the real problem lies in not informing the patient of the medical student's presence or allowing the patient to exercise his or her right of refusal. Therefore, the following recommendations are made: First, academic medical centers should provide regular training to doctors and medical students to ensure that they are fully aware of what is contained in the ethical guidelines established by the professional organizations and that they recognize the importance of adhering to these guidelines in clinical practice. Second, each clinical teaching activity should have the informed consent of the patient and be based on the patient's wishes. Finally, it is recommended that hospitals establish appropriate evaluation mechanisms to assess doctors’ compliance with the ethical guidelines and provide continuing education and training for doctors and medical students who fail to comply.