Unauthorized practice: teaching pelvic examination on women under anesthesia

Abstract

Medical ethics evolved over the past half-century. This brought close reexamination and scrutiny of medical education and the "hands-on training" of future medical practitioners. Likewise societal opinions have intensified regarding the rights of patients, especially those deemed less likely to express their humiliation if they should discover themselves in compromising positions during treatment. Informed consent is modern medico-legal terminology; if the public felt that all patients were treated with the self-determination and dignity required by current HIPAA regulations, then there would be no reason to legislate such requirements. Law professor Robin Fretwell Wilson, Esq., and obstetrics and gynecology professor Nancy G. Chescheir, MD, present evidence and opinions from the legal and medical perspectives regarding conducting pelvic exams on anesthetized women without or with vague consent.