New medical students at the University of Saskatchewan must now provide criminal record checks before starting school.
Medical students deal with patients during their first year of study and the new screening requirements will add to patient safety, says Dr. Barry Ziola, director of admissions with the U of S college of medicine.
"Patients are in a situation where they’re vulnerable and trust is very important," Ziola said. "We want to ensure our students have the appropriate character and background."
Previously, students had to complete a questionnaire from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan as part of their entrance requirements.
Some of the questions asked about any criminal history, but the medical-licensing body relies on student self-disclosure.
"This is getting students in the mindset that right from the get-go this is something they’ll have to answer on an annual basis for the rest of their lives," Ziola said.
The changes to entrance requirements for 2011-12 were approved last month by the university council. A trial run of the new policy started for the 2010-11 school year.
There are two requirements for new medical students: A criminal record check and vulnerable sector screening that details any complaints made against people working in settings with children, seniors or disabled people.
"There’s no point of a student coming into medicine if they’re not getting a licence at the end of it," Ziola said.
While not a foolproof measure, the formal record checks should help prevent some cases of patient abuse, Ziola said.
"We’re trying to get students to think about the obligation of being good citizens," he said. "If we can get that instilled in our students early, I think the probability of (abuse) occurring 10, 20, 30 years later will be lower."
Dr. Edward Poon was convicted in June of sexual assault against two former patients at his Regina practice. Poon’s acquittal on four other counts is being appealed by the Crown.
Six of 20 doctors under investigation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Saskatchewan as of September are being investigated for alleged improper sexual behaviour with patients.
The two checks for medical students can only reveal background, not prevent good doctors from going bad, Ziola said.
"We’re dealing with humans here," he said. "We can’t guarantee that just because you pass a check this summer you won’t do something criminal tomorrow."
Most medical schools in Canada require criminal record checks, and those school that don’t will eventually add the requirement, Ziola said.
The checks will also help protect people outside of Saskatchewan, Ziola said.
"Our students do electives across the country and occasionally abroad," he said. "It’s to protect, as best we can, anyone they interact with in a student/patient context."
A criminal past, though, doesn’t always mean exclusion from medical school. If a medical school applicant has a criminal record, the application automatically goes to a committee for review.
The review panel will look at the seriousness of the crime, rehabilitation and age of the student since conviction, Ziola said.
"It’s a case-by-case," he said. "This is not one set of rules fitting everybody."
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