Disputes Between Medical Supervisors and Trainees

THE RELATIONSHIP between medical students, resident physicians, and their supervisors is a major factor determining the quality of medical education. For this relationship to be most conducive to learning, medical supervisors and trainees must communicate openly, share clearly defined conceptions of their respective roles in patient care and within the larger teacher-learner relationship, 1 and interact with each other and with patients in "a climate of trust and concern."2 Fostering such a relationship is an important goal of medical education. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that too often this idealistic model is not realized in practice. 3-11 When disputes arise between medical students, resident physicians, and supervising physicians, they often can be resolved through open and honest communication and informal negotiation. 12 When disputes cannot be resolved by the individual parties, resolution may require recourse to formal mechanisms that follow the requirements of due process. Due process for fair resolution of disputes between medical students,