The doctor's dilemma: website helps doctors with reporting knife wounds

The GMC has added a new series of tutorials to its award-nominated website, Good Medical Practice (GMP) in Action.

The GMC has added a new series of tutorials to its award-nominated website, Good Medical Practice (GMP) in Action. The online resource explores common real-life medical and ethical dilemmas and explains how doctors should tackle them using GMC guidance. New scenarios include balancing patient confidentiality with risks to public safety when dealing with knife wounds and when to contact the DVLA with concerns about a patient’s safety as a driver.

GMP in Action www.gmc-uk.org/gmpinaction has proved to be a great success since its launch last year. Each month the site is visited by 1,500 doctors, medical students and members of the public. The eagerly anticipated new scenarios have been drawn up with the help of doctors and are based on real-life situations. This means they are complex and deal with more than one dilemma at a time - to reflect the challenges which doctors may face.

Jane O’Brien Assistant Director Standards and Fitness to Practise said:

“We have had very positive feedback from users of GMP in Action. It is proving to be a valuable aid for doctors brushing up their knowledge and skills, and students have written to us praising the site’s usefulness for their exam preparation. We want the website to provide an interesting and accessible way to improve understanding of our guidance and to help doctors make decisions that are legally and ethically robust.”

GMP in Action invites doctors to consider what they would do in the following situations:

• A 19 year old man is brought to you whilst you are on duty with stab wounds to his abdomen. You suspect the injury is the result of an assault. The man is adamant he doesn’t want to involve the police. Can you encourage your patient to speak to the police? What if anything should you disclose and when?

• Mr Hartley has Alzheimer’s and visits the surgery with his daughter Clementine who requests that her father has an ultrasound scan. How can you assess Mr Harley’s capacity to give consent and find out what his wishes are with Clementine in the consulting room?

• Mr Jessop visits you alone and confides that he thinks his wife is not fit to drive. Do you ask Mr Jessop to tell his wife about his visit and request her to come to the surgery or do you inform the DVLA yourself?

• You recently supervised Dr May, a junior (Specialty Trainee year 1) doctor whilst he worked with you on his training post. His attitude and communication skills were not good and he required further training before completing the post. He has written requiring a reference. Can you refuse? Should you provide a reference referring to factual information only, or can you offer an opinion about his suitability for the post?

ENDS

Notes to editors
For further information please contact the Media Relations Office on 020 7189 5454, out of hours 020 7189 5444, fax 020 7189 5401, email press@gmc-uk.org, website http://www.gmc-uk.org

GMP in Action was shortlisted for ‘Internet Product of the Year’ in the British Computing Society and IT Excellence Awards, November 2009.

The General Medical Council registers and licenses doctors to practise medicine in the UK. Our purpose is summed up in the phrase: Regulating Doctors, Ensuring Good Medical Practice.

The law gives us four main functions:
• keeping up-to-date registers of qualified doctors
• fostering good medical practice
• promoting high standards of medical education
• dealing firmly and fairly with doctors whose fitness to practise is in doubt

©2009 General Medical Council Press Office