Barrett N A
University of Sydney, Australia.
J Med Ethics. 1997 Oct;23(5):277-81. doi: 10.1136/jme.23.5.277.
Today's medical students are being confronted with ethical situations of far greater complexity than were their predecessors and yet the medical education system does little to prepare students for the ethical dilemmas which they inevitably face when entering the hospital environment. The following article addresses the issues surrounding a case where 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 prevent death is by breaking confidentiality because the student has insufficient clinical experience to provide adequate guidance. However, this requires ignoring the patient's right to autonomy, a right enshrined in both case law and medical ethics. Clearly the student's ethical, moral and legal position must be carefully evaluated.
如今的医学生面临着比他们的前辈复杂得多的伦理情境，然而医学教育体系几乎没有为学生应对进入医院环境时不可避免会遇到的伦理困境做好准备。下面这篇文章探讨了围绕这样一个案例的相关问题：一名患者私下告知一名学生他的自杀计划。学生该怎么做？学生防止患者死亡的唯一办法是打破保密原则，因为该学生临床经验不足，无法提供充分的指导。然而，这需要无视患者的自主权，这一权利在判例法和医学伦理中均有体现。显然，必须仔细评估该学生在伦理、道德和法律方面的立场。
