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KMID : 0986720170250020007
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Korean Journal of Medicine and Law
2017 Volume.25 No. 2 p.7 ~ p.25
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Legal Issues of Medical Practice by Medical Students
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Bae Hyun-Ah
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Abstract
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Medical Service Act allows medical students to engage in medical practice, under the supervision of advisory professors or medical personnel, despite not being licensed medical personnel themselves. As both medical institutions and educational institutions for the training of doctors, teaching hospitals are differentiated from general hospitals. Clinical practice and observation are mandated parts of a medical student’s curriculum. Considering that patients of teaching hospitals can easily predict this type of student involvement, there is a presumption of implied consent even in the absence of a patient’s explicit consent. Thus, medical student involvement is permitted so long as the patient does not expressly indicate a contrary preference. However, this presumption does not apply to general hospitals, where the explicit consent of patients is necessary in order to permit medical student observation.
The mandatory supervision of an advisor or other medical personnel is not the only requirement for medical students to legitimately engage in medical practice. Students themselves must also be aware of the risks inherent in the relevant actions; understand the necessity of the patient’s explicit consent regarding relevant actions, arising from protection of their self-determination rights; and be perceptive to protection of patient information that qualifies as sensitive information. Equally important is that medical students take on an appropriate attitude with regard to the content and specifics of the practices enacted on the patient, and that the student properly informs the patient of their status as a medical student, explaining this and acquiring the patient’s consent for observation. Only through these means can prosecution or other legal issues regarding damage or injury be prevented, in case of negative consequences to the patient or violation of patients’ self-determination rights due to students engaging in medical practice. Above all, it is important to prioritize the establishment of professionalism, through exceptions that permit the involvement of medical students in medical practice as part of their curriculum, in order to develop the competence to provide the best quality care once those students become doctors.
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KEYWORD
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Medical Students, teaching hospital, self-determination rights, informed consent, supervision
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