1. A physician unexpectedly meets one of his female patients while waiting for a table at a restaurant. They are both alone and decide to have dinner together. At the end of dinner, the physician asks the woman if she would like to spend the night with him, and they proceed to have a consenting sexual relationship. What, ethically speaking, is the best advice for this physician? Click on the circle next to your answer choice A. He is free to engage in a sexual relationship with a patient if that person has consented. B. He can rely on the woman, who is an adult, to make her own choices. C. He is prohibited from having a sexual relationship with a current patient. D. He can continue to have a romantic relationship with her and give her medical care, provided that this care is on an intermittent basis. E. He can have a sexual relationship with her and treat her as a patient, provided that the state licensing board is informed of this relationship. The answer is pretty obvious (C), but I'm curious to hear what everyone would do in reality.
Obviously C is correct. In reality, I think it depends on what time of physician he is and what their relationship is. Is he her psychiatrist, treating her for feelings of inadequacy and sexual issues, who is now taking advantage of his position of dominance? Or is he her dermatologist who prescribes acne medication? There is a big difference between the 2, and in the patient's ability to truly consent.
If you hook up with a patient, the obvious next move is to make sure they aren't your patient anymore. No big deal - they can continue to hook up and she can go see another doctor. Those questions are so lame and annoying - it's like they think we are all going to abide by everything we learn all the time - I basically trained myself like a monkey on UWorld for those questions.
I would really like to see some of these dorky, unrealistic test writers turn down some super hot patient that they had (obviously unless she was a Psych patient, or someone treated for an STD). We're human first, then doctors. I really wish the NBME would acknowledge that instead of dismissing any sign of feeling as being wrong.
tell me about it. the nbme acts like we are going to be seeing 4 patients a day because if the patient brings up anything, the correct answer is to always have an hour long conversation and ask open-ended questions. and oh, of course the correct answer is (if she's hot) to see her another doc so u can still hook up with her and then of course, put it in her pooper.
does this really happen in real life? who really asks "would you like to spend the night?" i thought it just leads up to that... seems hooker-ish to me..
Epic post. I would have loved to ask that question during an ethics presentation (on this very topic) we had this semester: "But what about anal?" Hilarious...
I usually ask them if they're a consenting adult, not under the influence of alcohol and/or illicit substances, and if they would like to have sexual relations with me phrased in an open ended question. I then make them sign a consent form, do a quick whiff test, examine the area for vesicular lesions, chancres, gummas, check for friable cervix (fortunately, there is no chandelier in my bedroom) and if the coast is clear, I then whip out my trusty dental dam. The rest, I will leave to your imagination(s) for future self-induced hand relief. Please ladies, stop filling up my inbox with sexual advances. Your attempts have and will remain futile until I am done preparing for my exam.
