Medical Student Experiences with Ethical and Legal Cases

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Author: David Fine, Medical Student Council President

Originally published: Common Sense
May/June 2020

The purpose of medical education is to train future providers to be prepared for the multitude of patients, presentations, and complications that they might face in their future careers. Ethical and legal dilemmas are incredibly complicated and vary based on where you practice, so they are often less discussed than our essential medical fundamentals. Being somewhat familiar with common problems, however, is relevant not only to your future career but your rotations as well. I aim to share a few of the complex situations that I faced, which may apply to your rotations in the emergency department or on the floors.

Dilemma 1: A patient who was frustrated with long wait times starts the patient interview by stating that they are recording the conversation. 

Legal Implications of Responding to In-flight Medical Emergencies

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This post was peer reviewed.
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Author: Ali Bacharouch, MSIII
University of Michigan
AAEM/RSA Education Committee

Imagine boarding your flight to Fort Lauderdale after a hectic few months at the hospital. As the plane takes off you begin to think about how relaxing your trip is going to be. As you are trying to sleep, you hear some sounds coming from the back of the plane that give you flashbacks of the emergency department. You then hear an announcement the intercom system: “A fellow passenger needs medical attention; if you are a medical professional please identify yourself to a cabin crew member.” You quickly spring into action and attend to an elderly woman who reports new-onset lightheadedness. After ruling out life threatening conditions, you provide reassurance and head back to your seat as the woman expresses her gratitude.

Risk Management Monthly / Emergency Medicine - Case of the Month, January 2018

Here’s a case filed in 2013 against a hospital, its staff, and a contract NP and emergency physician in the ED, involved a seven-week-old child brought to the ED with a chief complaint of “blood in the mouth” and fussiness. The clinician’s note did not include this finding, but the nurse had documented blood in the mouth, facial bruising, and an eye injury that the child’s teenaged mother attributed to the child “hitting himself in the face.” Six weeks after this visit the child returned to the ED with a spinal cord injury, fractures of the clavicle and ribs, and extensive generalized bruising. The child, now paralyzed, was placed in foster care and subsequently adopted.