Communicating as a medical student

  1. Summary
  2. Creating fair, respectful, and compassionate workplaces
  3. Helping to tackle discrimination
  4. Treating patients fairly
  5. Promoting patient centred care
  1. Supporting continuity of care and safe delegation
  2. Consent and confidentiality
  3. Taking care of your own wellbeing
  4. Communicating as a medical student
  5. Engaging with assessments policies and procedures

We’ve strengthened the principles relating how you communicate as a student to reflect the updated Good medical practice and our Decision making and consent guidance. The guidance now says:

  • When communicating with patients you must:
    • be honest when you don't know something. As a student, you're not expected to know the answers to all questions a patient may have, but you are expected to listen to them and respect their views. You should do your best to find out the answers to the patient's questions yourself, or pass queries on to someone who will be able to help
    • make sure that, prior to giving information to patients, you have agreed it with your supervisor and the information is clear, accurate, up to date, and based on the best available evidence
    • take steps to meet the patient's language and communication needs and other potential barriers to effective communication (for example, pain or anxiety) so you can support them to engage in meaningful dialogue and make informed decisions about their care. You should ask for support to help you communicate effectively if necessary
    • check the patient’s understanding of the information they’ve been given, and do your best to make sure they have the time, support and resources they need to make informed decisions if they are able to. You should seek help from your supervisor if required
    • consider and respond to the needs of patients with impairments or disabilities. Not all impairments and disabilities are easy to identify so you should ask patients what support they need, and offer reasonable adjustments that are proportionate to the circumstances, seeking appropriate advice if unsure
    • treat each patient as an individual. (paragraph 31)

The guidance also reflects the principles in Good medical practice around communicating with colleagues, patients and publicly that also apply to you as a medical student:

  • Doctors must be honest and trustworthy, and maintain patient confidentiality in all their written, verbal and digital communications with patients and colleagues. They must make clear the extent of their knowledge and check that the information they provide is accurate, not false or misleading. (paragraph 99)
  • When communicating publicly as a doctor – including using social media, advertising services, and promoting or endorsing any services or products, they must:
    • follow the guidance in the previous section
    • declare any conflicts of interest
    • not exploit people’s vulnerability or lack of medical knowledge
    • make sure what they communicate is in line with their duty to promote and protect the health of patients and the public.
    • This also applies to you as a medical student. See the more detailed guidance Using social media as a medical professional for further information. (paragraph 100)
  • When communicating privately, including using instant messaging services, doctors should bear in mind that messages or other communications in private groups may become public. This also applies to medical students, and you should make sure that you only add content that you would be happy for a wider audience to see. You must also avoid sharing confidential patient information through these services. (paragraph 103)
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