Working under supervision

Overview

A graduate from a medical school who has obtained only, so called, adequate competence/ expertise must work under a supervision of a doctor who has the relevant specialised competence certification in order for the graduate to obtain this specialised competence as well. It is recommended to determine in writing which activities the doctor in training can perform alone during that time, which need to be supervised by the responsible doctor, and which treatment he is not yet prepared to perform at all. The head doctor or the head of the clinic is responsible for ensuring a full-time supervision of the doctor trainee by a certified specialist. If the trainee has obtained a certificate of completion of the basic level training of the relevant specialised module then he can serve during emergency hours under the condition that the presence of a specialised doctor is ensured to be within 20 minutes if needed. The head doctor, the head of the clinic or the specialised medical supervisor have no universal responsibility for any possible misconduct of the trainee. Everyone is responsible for his own conduct. The responsibility of the head doctor and the head of the clinic may be relevant if they did not fulfil the duties of being a supervising doctor. The responsibility may also be relevant if the supervising was neglected. Responsibility for the trainee may arise if he did not respect the orders from the supervisor or if the misconduct was such that it would be unacceptable even for a doctor without the relevant professional competence. If it is the case that the misconduct happens despite the supervising being absolutely correct, and under the conditions that the misconduct was unavoidable, the supervising attested professional doctor cannot be responsible for the consequences. Manual misconduct during a surgery is usually regarded to be accepted risk not violation of the rules of medical science.

Key words:
medicine – law – work under supervision