Vignette

A third year student, Rebecca Green, is near the end of her pediatrics clerkship and is asked by her resident if she wants to perform a lumbar puncture on an infant with a fever. Rebecca has observed lumbar punctures twice during the past month and understands how to perform the procedure. Yet she is concerned that her inexperience may cause harm to the child and that the parents may not want an inexperienced student performing an invasive procedure on their child. The resident, after encouraging Rebecca to be assertive and that she should perform the LP, introduces her to the parents as "student doctor Green." During the informed discussion, the resident tells the parents that "Dr. Green will do the procedure and I will be there if there is any problem."

Commentaries

• A Medical Student Perspective
• A Faculty Perspective