School of Medicine & Public Health – Consent for Sensitive Exams Under Anesthesia or Other Sedation

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Policy Number:
SMPH-80100
Old Policy Number:
80.100
Responsible Office:
SMPH Office of Academic Affairs

School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Policy

Rationale/​Purpose:

To outline the School of Medicine and Public Health's (SMPH) expectations about how we engage with patients regarding the involvement of health professions students in certain sensitive aspects of their care. Specifically, this policy summarizes how we obtain and document consent for sensitive exams to be performed by health professions students while patients are under anesthesia or are otherwise sedated.

Definitions:
Educational sensitive exam
A sensitive exam performed by a health professions student that is solely for the purpose of educating the health professions student and does not medically benefit the patient.
Health professions student
For purposes of this policy, any medical, physician assistant, or physical therapy student.
Sensitive exams
For purposes of this policy, breast, pelvic, urogenital, prostate, and rectal exams.
Policy:
  1. An attending physician should explain to each patient that the attending physician participates in the education of health professions students who will regularly be involved in the patient’s care. 
  2. It is the position of SMPH that, except in rare circumstances, all sensitive exams performed by health professions students are educational sensitive exams. 
  3. An educational sensitive exam performed by a health professions student while a patient is under anesthesia or otherwise sedated is deemed appropriate only if such an exam is a routine part of the patient’s procedure. 
  4. If an educational sensitive exam performed by a health professions student is deemed appropriate under Section III of this policy, the attending physician is responsible for obtaining and documenting the informed consent of the patient for the educational sensitive exam in the patient’s medical record. The attending physician must include in the informed consent discussion an explanation of the educational nature of the educational sensitive exam. 
  5. If an educational sensitive exam performed by a health professions student is deemed appropriate under Section III of this policy, and if consent was obtained from the patient or the patient’s surrogate decision-maker consistent with Section IV of this policy, the exam may be performed by one health professions student only after it has been confirmed in the patient’s medical record that consent to the educational sensitive exam was obtained. 
  6. All health professions students will be informed by the relevant course instructor that they may not perform an educational sensitive exam on a patient under anesthesia unless it has been confirmed in the patient’s medical record that consent to the educational sensitive exam was obtained. 
  7. SMPH will take appropriate action to address any violation of this policy. 

Policy Administration

Approval Authority:
Dean, School of Medicine and Public Health
Policy Manager:
SMPH Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Contact:
Director of Education Accreditation and Compliance -- Megan Heneke, megan.heneke@wisc.edu, (608) 265-4811
Effective Date:
07-09-2019
Date Issued:
07-09-2019
Retrieved:
04-27-2024 03:40:46