I am a medical student working as a healthcare assistant in the private sector...?

Question

Am I allowed to scurb in to assist in surgery? Several of my coursemates have been invited by surgeons to scrub in and assist/observe them, so where does the law actually stand regarding medical students in private healthcare?

Answer 1

I am also in the US, so I can only answer for here, but generally, anyone who is actually assisting in surgery must be covered by insurance.  When we do our rotations, we are covered by our school's insurance.  If we are doing outside rotations, they provide us with a letter that states that we are legitimately enrolled in medical school and appropriately credentialled and covered.  This would have nothing to do with whether we were in a private or a public hospital--the hospital would still need to know that everyone assisting was covered.  I don't, however, know what the rules are in the UK, but I suspect it would be similar.  I do know a couple of foreign students who assisted their surgeon parents as teenagers, but I'm not sure how legitimate that was.

It is definitely possible to observe surgery without being covered or being on an official rotation.  We just wouldn't be allowed to actually participate.

Answer 2

It would probably depend on which country you are in. I doubt that the US would allow med students to assist unless they are doing it during a clinical clerkship that has been credentialed to have students. For your own safety you need to speak to your school advisors as I'm sure there are many legal issues that would have to be worked out. You would need malpractice insurance and some sort of privileges to be able to see patients and operate on them.

Answer 3

When you are working as a healthcare assistant you are limited to the scope of practice for that position, which will vary by state. When you are acting as a medical student your training physician will guide your activities and may invite you to scrub in. Do not risk your future on the possible liability and ethical conflicts by trying to get experience on the job outside of the scope healthcare assistant practice. If a physician is inviting you to scrub in during your work time, go to your site supervisor to ask how you should respond.