A National Survey of Physicians’ Behaviors Regarding Sexual Contact With Patients

Assessing Professional Boundaries in Clinical Settings: The Development of the Boundaries in Practice Scale

“…Instruments identified in the literature varied considerably dependent on purpose such as investigating prevalence (Bayer et al, 1996;Coverdale, Bayer, Chiang, Thornby, & Bangs, 1994) and various combinations of beliefs, behaviors, knowledge attitudes, skills, and ethics (Borys & Pope, 1989;Gaufberg et al, 2008;Jayaratne et al, 1997;White, 2003). No single instrument was found that could measure knowledge, comfort, experience, and ethical decision making.…”

“…During the 1990s in a number of Western countries, members of the medical profession participated in research to inform the development of guidelines, a response to the prevalence of reported sexual misconduct to professional bodies (Bayer, Coverdale, & Chiang, 1996;Coverdale, Thomson, & White, 1995;. An anonymous four-page questionnaire examining social and sexual boundaries for the purposes of developing national guidelines was completed by 187 general medical practitioners in New Zealand (Coverdale et al, 1995;.…”

“…Again, no validity or reliability data were reported. Bayer et al (1996) applied a modified instrument (two-page, two-part questionnaire) used by Coverdale et al (1995) to a national U.S. survey of internists, family medicine physicians, obstetrician-gynecologists, and ophthalmologists. The questionnaire sought information on participants' own sexual behavior with patients; personal knowledge of sexual boundary crossings by colleagues; and the impressions of doctors, not their patients, on the impact of these breaches on the doctors and their patients.…”

Professional Integrity and the Role of Medical Students in Professional Self-Regulation

“…We are not aware of surveys that report on medical student's knowledge of others who have engaged in sexual contact with a current patient, although medical students may themselves hold problematic or worrisome attitudes [29]. A national survey of physicians across several specialties, however, indicated that a substantial minority had personal knowledge of sexual contact by colleagues concurrent with treatment [30] and an important minority of physician respondents has themselves reported engaging in sexual contact with patients [30]. Disciplinary actions by a state medical board provide additional evidence that such involvement does occur [31].…”

Sex and the surgery: students’ attitudes and potential behaviour as they pass through a modern medical curriculum

“…8 In the USA, Bayer et al's nationwide survey of 1600 doctors, from various specialties, found 4.5% of respondents admitted to dating a patient, with 3.4% admitting having sexual contact with a patient. 9 The numbers of doctors disciplined for sexual offences with patients is considerably smaller. Donaldson's survey of 49 senior doctors over a five year period found serious concerns raised about 6% of these doctors.…”