Setting and maintaining professional role boundaries: an educational strategy.

AIM: To develop and evaluate a programme focused on assisting medical students in setting and maintaining social and sexual boundaries, within their training and in future medical practice. CONTEXT: In response to allegations of sexual misconduct by medical practitioners, a teaching programme was implemented with, and evaluated by, final year medical students who were undertaking 9 weeks of community health and general practice experience. OUTCOME: The consensus of the students was that professional role boundary issues were complex, their professional ethos had been challenged, and there was a need to incorporate teaching about setting and maintaining role boundaries throughout all facets of the medical curriculum.
RESULTS: The pilot programme was successful in engaging students in the process of developing teaching to assist in setting and maintaining social and sexual boundaries. Recommendations to formalise the programme were approved.