THE MEDICAL-STUDENT AND THE SUICIDAL PATIENT

Today's medical students are being confronted with ethical situations of far greater complexity than were their predecessors and yet the med ical education system does little to prepare students for the ethical dilemmas which they inevitably face when entering the hospital environ ment. The following article addresses the issues surrounding a case wh ere a patient has told a student in confidence of his plans to commit suicide. What should the student do? The only way for the student to p revent death is by breaking confidentiality because the student has in sufficient clinical experience to provide adequate guidance. However, this requires ignoring the patient's right to autonomy, a right enshri ned in both case law and medical ethics. Clearly the student's ethical , moral and legal position must be carefully evaluated.