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AAMC Statement on Patient Rights and Medical Training

Press Release

Contact: Nicole Buckley
202-828-0041
nbuckley@aamc.org

For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C., June 12, 2003 - Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) President Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., issued the following statement today, in response to reports that medical students are conducting pelvic exams on anesthetized patients without permission:

"To become effective physicians, medical students and residents not only must acquire clinical skills, they must also learn to treat their patients always with respect and dignity. Recent reports have suggested that medical students are performing pelvic examinations on women under anesthesia, without their knowledge and approval. AAMC believes that such practice is unethical and unacceptable.

Full communication between doctors and patients about all aspects of their care is essential. When receiving care at a hospital, patients have a right to ask what procedures and treatments they will undergo as well as who will be involved in their care. If a patient is uncomfortable with the answer to either of these questions, the patient has the right to say "no." The choice is always the patient's.

That said, students and residents need opportunities to learn and practice procedures, under the close supervision of experienced physicians in structured learning situations. It is this training that gives patients the confidence of knowing that their doctor has done a procedure many times, not just read about it in a book or seen it on a computer screen."

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.