The Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Southern Medical Association. It has a multidisciplinary and inter-professional focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists.

SMJ // Article

Perspectives

The Medical Ethics of Poor Supervision

Authors: John F. Fisher, MD

Abstract

Medical trainees expect to become competent physicians like their professors, most of whom facilitate those goals. A rare, unscrupulous supervisor can eschew the bedside and practice medicine largely from a keyboard. Carefully worded notes pasted into the electronic medical record can disguise this charade. Pedantic mini-lectures outside patient rooms can impress young learners and further divert attention from the patient who may suffer in this hands-off approach. Consequently, compassion for sick people, the art of history taking, and the subtleties of physical examination may never be demonstrated to eager student doctors.
Posted in: Primarily Ethics2

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