Citation

Rubashkin N, Minckas N. AMA J. Ethics 2018; 20(1): 238-246.

Affiliation

A researcher at the Institute for Global Health, University College London (UCL) in England, and served as a teaching assistant for research methods and public policy courses at the University La Matanza in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and for global health research methods and evidence courses at UCL.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, American Medical Association)

DOI

10.1001/journalofethics.2018.20.3.ecas2-1803

PMID

29542434

Abstract

Argentina passed a law for humanized birth in 2004 and another law against obstetric violence in 2009, both of which stipulate the rights of women to achieve respectful maternity care. Clinicians and women might still be unaware of these laws, however. In this article, we discuss the case of a fourth-year medical student who, while visiting Argentina from the United States for his obstetric rotation, witnesses an act of obstetric violence. We show that the student's situation can be understood as one of moral distress and argue that, in this specific instance, it would be appropriate for the student to intervene by providing supportive care to the patient. However, we suggest that medical schools have an obligation to better prepare students for rotations conducted abroad.

© 2018 American Medical Association. All Rights Reserved.

Language: en