Surprisingly, patients tend to accept a trainee's presence in a consultation if they are addressed as student doctor or trainee doctor, as opposed to medical student, writes Dr Hany George El-Sayeh. This may be because of fears about being seen by a scruffy, disinterested youth who may well later report their intimacies in the bar.
He also recommends introducing a "donor card" system in education, whereby patients attending clinics are warned in advance of a trainee's potential presence, and the onus is put on them to opt out of the process. Currently patients are usually asked (rather embarrassingly) in clinics if they mind a trainee being present.
Trainees themselves could counter stereotypes by making a greater effort to appear interested, smart, and punctual – all in line with their new "student doctor" status, he concludes.