Journal article

Publication year: 2019

Pages: 477-483

Journal: Rechtsmedizin

Volume number: 29

Issue number: 6

ISSN: 0937-9819

eISSN: 1434-5196

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-019-00353-4

Publisher: Springer

Abstract: 

Background Physicians are increasingly confronted with legal issues as part of their professional practice. Strengthening patient rights on the basis of treatment regulations and also extensive jurisdiction, law or guidelines, have led to a strong regulation of medicine. The medical licensure act cites legal questions of medical practice as a subject of instruction. A binding regulation on the scope and content of medical education does not exist. The National Learning Objectives Catalogue for Physicians (NKLM) addresses this issue and outlines learning objectives that define the ethical and legal knowledge, skills and abilities that medical students should be taught throughout their studies; however, the NKLM has no binding effect on the medical faculties.

Material and methods For the first time, medical students in the final year at 18 medical faculties in Germany were asked by means of a standardized questionnaire about their assessment of the significance of medical law as a whole as well as individual medicolegal topics.

Results The vast majority of the surveyed students considered teaching law to be very important or extremely important. In addition, the establishment of a course in medical law with anchoring in the medical licensure act was considered to be most appropriate. The relevance of individual topics was assessed differently. For example, the topics informed consent, legal issues in child maltreatment, medical malpractice, medical confidentiality and documentation requirements were classified as relevant. Less important were legal issues of complementary medicine, reproductive medicine, ethical religious ideological conflicts including euthanasia and the role of ethic committees.

Conclusion The students were fundamentally open to questions of medical law and saw the relevance of numerous concrete legal questions. This should be taken into greater consideration in the further discussion of the NKLM, but also of the medical faculties and their teaching staff. A lecturer for medical law should be provided.

Harvard Citation style: Neuser, M., Birngruber, C. and Dettmeyer, R. (2019) Medical law inmedical education. A survey among medical students in the final year, Rechtsmedizin, 29(6), pp. 477-483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-019-00353-4

APA Citation style: Neuser, M., Birngruber, C., & Dettmeyer, R. (2019). Medical law inmedical education. A survey among medical students in the final year. Rechtsmedizin. 29(6), 477-483. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00194-019-00353-4