5°c Partly cloudy
11°c Light rain
Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION
Women must give consent for pelvic exam: MD
WINNIPEG — Women put under anesthetic for obstetrics and gynecological surgery are not subjected to pelvic examinations by medical students unless they have given consent, health officials said Friday.
Dr. Maggie Morris, medical director of the women’s health program and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Medicine, said guidelines were set up by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada in 2006, to prevent unauthorized pelvic examinations by students.
"This is a very important issue for us," Morris said. "Our patients deserve informed consent and the aim is to provide that."
Morris was commenting about an article in the Globe and Mail earlier this week that stated medical students routinely did internal pelvic examinations on unconscious patients without getting specific consent.
Morris said the article was incorrect and misquoted part of the guidelines.
But Morris said students do need to learn how to perform pelvic examinations and the SOGC guidelines describes the proper procedure that needs to be followed to have it occur during surgery.
Morris said if the patient doesn’t want to have a student participate in the surgery, they will not.
"We would never traipse students in while a patient is asleep," she said. "It would be a violation of the society’s guidelines."
Morris said the students referred to in the article must not have realized that patients give their consent to doctors weeks before the surgery, when the students are not present.
Even if a patient has given consent, the students still have to introduce themselves before the surgery begins, Morris said --and there are other people present.
"They don’t examine patients unsupervised in the operating room," she said.
More Your Health
- Back to Top
- Return to Your Health
Poll
Proudly brought to you by:
Most Popular Your Health
- 'You look fantastic,' Ellen DeGeneres tells beaming Helene Campbell
- New book details Obama's fondness for weed while a Hawaiian high school student
- Raise prices of caffeinated alcohol drinks, discourage sale in bars: report
- Tanning-salon restrictions take effect June 15
- Doctor house calls part of Ontario plan to keep seniors at home longer
- Man who beheaded fellow bus passenger thought victim was an alien: supporter
- Schizophrenia drug may help prevent some cancers from recurring: study
- Stephen Lewis praises Saskatoon program for health clinics in schools
- Alberta police, fire crews, paramedics get help fighting post-traumatic stress
- Tories say Ornge running $14.5-million deficit, according to 2011 documents
- 'You look fantastic,' Ellen DeGeneres tells beaming Helene Campbell
- Man who beheaded fellow bus passenger thought victim was an alien: supporter
- Tanning-salon restrictions take effect June 15
- New book details Obama's fondness for weed while a Hawaiian high school student
- Schizophrenia drug may help prevent some cancers from recurring: study
- Pandemic flu shot linked to lower rates of death, preterm birth in infants
- Gills onions and Compliments salads recalled in Listeria scare
- Rick Hansen named honorary colonel of military support unit
- Doctor house calls part of Ontario plan to keep seniors at home longer
- Cervical cancer treatment device recalled; couldn't be fully cleaned
- Report finds poor diet remains recipe for disaster as Canadians get older
- 'You look fantastic,' Ellen DeGeneres tells beaming Helene Campbell
- Man who beheaded fellow bus passenger thought victim was an alien: supporter
- Pros and cons of pacifiers can leave parents pondering what's best for baby
- Double-lung recipient Helene Campbell discharged from hospital
- Tanning-salon restrictions take effect June 15
- Free Viagra and transgender surgery on the chopping block at DND: sources
- UN food envoy provokes Ottawa with findings on hunger and poor diet in Canada
- There is hope for women with decreased sex drives
- Two lung transplant patient Helene Campbell out of hospital, back on treadmill
- Rick Hansen named honorary colonel of military support unit
- Schizophrenia drug may help prevent some cancers from recurring: study
- Alberta police, fire crews, paramedics get help fighting post-traumatic stress
- Ontario cutting hundreds of OHIP fees paid to doctors as talks reach standstill
- Saskatchewan toddler strapped to back of ATV survives underwater plunge
- Expansion of B.C. insulin pump program would save millions, says CDA
- Pros and cons of pacifiers can leave parents pondering what's best for baby
- Report finds poor diet remains recipe for disaster as Canadians get older
- Important to find out reason for fatigue
- Fat cat dies of respiratory distress
- U.S. FDA warns of injuries, deaths linked to 'liberation therapy' for MS
- Alzheimer's focus shifts to testing therapies earlier, before patients show many symptoms
- Natural medicine best for lowering cholesterol
- There is hope for women with decreased sex drives
- Seven fired after privacy breach at Peterborough, Ont., hospital
- Stressed out? Turn off email
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.