Informed consent and the "medical student psychiatrist"

The involvement of medical students in the clinical assessment of psychiatry patients raises concerns that have ethical and possibly legal implications. Responses to a 1986 questionnaire by 91 departments of clinical psychiatry in U.S. medical schools reveal that a substantial proportion (29.3%) of these departments were not fully compliant with established guidelines for obtaining informed consent from patients for students' participation in the patients' assessment and psychiatric care. Medical educators in psychiatry should recognize the importance of consent as a topic in the educational process and should establish policies that correct the discrepancies between institutional practices and informed consent guidelines.