Professional Boundaries and Sexual Misconduct in Medicine
Course #41170 - $18 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
The medical profession has long recognized the importance of maintaining professional boundaries in order to ensure the integrity of the physician-patient relationship, foster interprofessional collaborations, and maintain the trust of the healthcare system. However, defining these boundaries can be challenging, as they are influenced by a variety of factors, including cultural norms, personal beliefs, and organizational policies. This course will explore the concept of professional boundaries in the context of physician-patient relationships, the implications of blurred boundaries, examples of boundary violations, and strategies for maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
- INTRODUCTION
- PHYSICIAN SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AND BOUNDARY VIOLATIONS: SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
- DEFINING PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES
- THE IMPACT OF BOUNDARY VIOLATIONS
- COMMON BOUNDARY VIOLATIONS IN VARIOUS PRACTICE SETTINGS
- THE ROLE OF REFLECTIVE PRACTICE
- NAVIGATING SPECIFIC BOUNDARY-RELATED DILEMMAS
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for all physicians and physician assistants in all practice settings.
The purpose of this course is to provide physicians and physician assistants with the knowledge and skills necessary to ethically and appropriately avoid boundary violations.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Define professional boundaries in the context of physician-patient relationships and the scope of the problem of boundary violations and physician misconduct.
- Describe the impact of professional boundary violations on patient health, professional care, and the integrity of the healthcare system.
- Recognize common boundary challenges in various clinical settings and implement strategies to address them ethically and effectively.
- Utilize reflective practice and self-assessment techniques to identify personal vulnerabilities and strengths regarding professional boundaries.
- Implement practical guidelines and ethical frameworks to navigate boundary-related dilemmas and make informed decisions in complex situations.
Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and NetCE Nurse Planner. She works as a Nurse Division Planner for NetCE and a per diem nurse practitioner in urgent care in Central Illinois. Mary graduated with her Associate’s degree in nursing from Carl Sandburg College, her BSN from OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing in 2013, and her MSN with a focus on nursing education from Chamberlain University in 2017. She received a second master's degree in nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Chamberlain University in 2019. She is an adjunct faculty member for a local university in Central Illinois in the MSN FNP program. Her previous nursing experience includes emergency/trauma nursing, critical care nursing, surgery, pediatrics, and urgent care. As a nurse practitioner, she has practiced as a primary care provider for long-term care facilities and school-based health services. She enjoys caring for minor illnesses and injuries, prevention of disease processes, health, and wellness. In her spare time, she stays busy with her two children and husband, coaching baseball, staying active with her own personal fitness journey, and cooking. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nursing, for which she is a member of the bylaws committee.
Contributing faculty, Mary Franks, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
John M. Leonard, MD
John V. Jurica, MD, MPH
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.