Maintaining Boundaries Flashcards
What are the rules surrounding relationships with patients?
You must not pursue a sexual or improper emotional relationship with a current patient.
If a patient pursues a sexual or improper emotional relationship with you, you should treat them politely and considerately and try to re-establish a professional boundary. If trust has broken down and you find it necessary to end the professional relationship, you must do so.
You must not use your professional relationship with a patient to pursue a relationship with someone close to them, e.g. you must not use home visits to pursue a relationship with a member of a patient’s family.
You must not end a professional relationship with a patient solely to pursue a personal relationship with them.
What are the rules regarding relationships with former patients?
Personal relationships with former patients may also be inappropriate depending on factors such as the length of time since the professional relationship ended, the nature of the previous professional relationship, whether the patient was particularly vulnerable at the time of the professional relationship, and whether they are still vulnerable, and whether you will be caring for members of the patients family.
You must consider these issues carefully before pursuing a personal relationship with a former patient.
Are there any considerations with timing for relationships with patients?
It is not possible to specify a length of time after which it would be acceptable to begin a relationship with a former patient. However, the more recently a professional relationship with a patient ended, the less likely it is that beginning a personal relationship would be appropriate.
The duration of the professional relationship may also be relevant, e.g. a relationship with a former patient you treated over a number of years is more likely to be inappropriate than a relationship with a patient with whom you had a single consultation.
What is the relevance of the vulnerability of a patient and having a relationship with them?
Some patients may be more vulnerable than others and the more vulnerable someone is, the more likely it is that having a relationship with them would be an abuse of power and your position as a doctor.
Pursuing a relationship with a former patient is more likely to be (or seen to be) an abuse of your position if you are a psychiatrist or a paediatrician.
Whatever your specialty, you must not pursue a personal relationship with a former patient who is still vulnerable. If the former patient was vulnerable at the time that you treated them, but is no longer vulnerable, you should be satisfied that the patient’s decisions and actions are not influenced by the previous relationship between you, you are not abusing your professional position.
If you are not sure whether you are (or could be seen to be) abusing your professional position, you should seek advice about your situation from an impartial colleague, your defence body or your medical association.
