The hospitals in the University Health Network are
teaching hospitals. This means that a health care professional trainee (a student nurse, doctor, resident or fellow) may be part of your health care team. Your doctor will tell you if a health care professional trainee is part of your team. A resident is a doctor training to be a specialist, supervised by an experienced specialist. A fellow is a specialist training in a sub-specialty.
The University Health Network is dedicated to ethical teaching. This means that your doctor or another member of your health care team will tell you when a health care professional trainee will be present and participating in your care. You will be given information about the procedures a trainee will participate in and you will be asked to agree to the trainee’s participation.
If health care professional trainees are part of your team, they will have access to your health care information. Your doctor will make sure you are told about this.
You can refuse to participate in activities that are done strictly for the benefit of health care professional trainees. These can be activities like teaching sessions or lectures that bring in patients. You can also refuse to let your health care information be used in seminars if using your information would reveal your identity.
