Documentary & Discussion: Informed Consent For Pelvic Exam Under Anesthesia

Initiated by students in the Yale-chapter of the American Medical Student Association, the Office of the Deputy Dean for Education and the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Program for Biomedical Ethics are pleased to host a dinner and panel discussion on Thursday, February 15 at 6:00 p.m. about Informed Consent for Pelvic Exam under Anesthesia. We will begin the evening with a brief introduction of the topic, followed by a screening of the documentary At Your Cervix, and concluding with a panel discussion. Panelists will include:

 

Lori Bruce, HEC-C, associate director, Center for Bioethics; associate director, Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics; chair, Community Bioethics Forum, YSM

 

Shefali Pathy, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences; director of clerkship curriculum; OB/GYN clerkship director, YSM

 

Heather Reynolds, MSN, CNM, certified nurse midwife and lecturer; deputy Title IX coordinator; discrimination & harassment resource coordinator, Yale School of Nursing

 

Mark Mercurio, MD, professor of pediatrics (Neonatology); director, Program for Biomedical Ethics, YSM; director, Yale Pediatrics Ethics Program, will moderate the discussion.

 

We appreciate the student interest in learning more about the issues raised in this film regarding student involvement in pelvic exams of patients under anesthesia. The panel will provide an opportunity to discuss the law Connecticut passed in 2022 related to this issue, as well as YSM’s and Yale New Haven Health System’s practices. 

 

The screening and panel discussion will take place in the Cushing Whitney Medical Library (333 Cedar Street), Room SHML 115. Please register using this Qualtrics link, so that we have plenty of food for dinner. Please RSVP by Monday, February 12.

 

As background, we thought it would be helpful to provide an excerpt from the 2022 Connecticut law:

 

“A health care provider … shall obtain [express] consent in advance of performing an intimate examination on a patient who will be under deep sedation or general anesthesia, or is rendered unconscious, unless the intimate examination is within the scope of a planned procedure, diagnostic examination or surgical procedure for which the patient has provided general consent. 

 

If a student in a medical school participating in a course of instruction … performs an intimate examination on a patient exclusively for training purposes, and not (1) as part of the patient’s clinical care, or (2) when such student or person is part of the patient’s clinical care team, the hospital or outpatient surgical facility shall obtain a separate written consent from the patient detailing such student’s or person’s involvement in the intimate examination.”

 

We look forward to hearing your questions and thoughts and having an open conversation on this important issue.