Seek Patient Permission

It is not unusual for physicians to be shadowed by all sorts of people. Sometimes, college students will seek out summer jobs in a physician’s office to see if they want to consider a career in medicine or even, nursing. Med students will follow physicians for a period of time to gain some practical experience in their field or specialty. And certainly, in teaching hospitals, it is very common for a group of students and physicians to round on patients.

However, regardless of who is following or shadowing the physician, there are some important considerations to be observed.

• Be sure and seek the patient’s permission before bringing an unexpected person into the patient exam room.

• Introduce those who are following the physician and let the patient know who they are, and why they are there.

• Seek patient permission before allowing a student or intern to do a procedure on a patient.

• Respect the patients right to decline having someone else in the room during their exam or do a procedure on them.

• Train the people following the physician in patient privacy guidelines.

• Limit the number people allowed to follow the physician at any one time.

Always remember to put yourself in the patients position. If you were in the same situation would you want to be exposed to crowd? Being naked in a crowd can be a humbling experience for anyone.