Responsibly managing students' learning experiences in student-run clinics: a virtues-based ethical framework

Abstract

Background: Many medical schools now offer students a distinctive clinical and learning opportunity, the student-run clinic (SRC), in which generalist physicians often play the major role. Although SRCs have become popular, they pose as-yet unexplored ethical challenges for the learning experiences of students. In SRCs students not only take on a significant administrative role especially in coordinating care, but also provide direct patient care for a clinically challenging, biopsychosocially vulnerable, medically indigent population of patients. SRCs provide an exemplar of the ethical challenges of care for such patients.

Summary: The ethical framework proposed in this article emphasizes that these valued learning opportunities for students should occur in the context of professional formation, with explicit attention to developing the professional virtues, with faculty as role models for these virtues.

Conclusions: The valued learning opportunities for students in SRCs should occur in the context of professional formation, with explicit attention to developing the professional virtues of integrity, compassion, self-effacement, self-sacrifice, and courage, which are required for the appropriate care of the vulnerable populations served by SRCs.

Keywords: ethics; professional virtues; professionalism; student-run clinics (SRCs).