rss
J Med Ethics 2009;35:402-406 doi:10.1136/jme.2008.027052
  • Clinical ethics
    • Paper

HIV testing of junior doctors: exploring their experiences, perspectives and accounts

  1. L R Salkeld1,
  2. S J McGeehan2,
  3. E Chaudhuri3,
  4. I M Kerslake4
  1. 1
    North Bristol NHS Trust, Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, UK
  2. 2
    Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cheltenham General Hospital, Cheltenham, UK
  3. 3
    Taunton and Somerset NHS Trust, Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, Somerset, UK
  4. 4
    United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol, UK
  1. Dr Lee R Salkeld, Frome Valley Medical Centre, 2 Court Road, Frampton Cotterell, Bristol BS36 2DE, UK; L Salkeld leesalkeld{at}hotmail.com
  • Received 13 August 2008
  • Revised 9 February 2009
  • Accepted 31 March 2009

Abstract

Objective: To explore the accounts and perspectives of junior doctors who were offered an HIV test by their employing National Health Service (NHS) trust and discuss ethical issues posed by this new policy.

Design: Qualitative in-depth interview study.

Setting: 4 NHS hospital trusts.

Participants: 24 junior doctors who had been offered an HIV test as part of their pre-employment occupational health checks.

Results: The manner in which HIV tests were offered to junior doctors varied both between and within the NHS trusts. Overall, the doctors were highly critical of the way the HIV test was offered. Recurrent themes surrounding a lack of discussion and information regarding the indications for the test and implications of a positive result influenced the the doctors’ perception of their experiences. As a consequence of the shortcomings of how the test was offered, most of the doctors held the misperception that HIV testing was mandatory and many felt unable to decline the test. The majority of doctors referred to patient protection as adequate justification for being offered an HIV test.

Conclusions: Junior doctors offered an HIV test under new Department of Health occupational health guidance were disparaging about how the test was offered. The findings of this study affect thousands of junior doctors in the UK, and the impact of these results is extensive. Participants’ suggestions regarding how the process of offering an HIV test can be improved are discussed and ethical issues regarding the new Department of Health policy are highlighted.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests: None.

  • Ethics approval: The study was approved by the Southmead Ethics Committee. Reference 07-H0102/94.

  • Provenance and Peer review: Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

This Article

  1. Abstract
  2. Full text
  3. PDF

Responses

  1. Submit a response
  2. No responses published

Register for free content

The full back archive is now available for all BMJ Journals. Institutional subscribers may access the entire archive as part of their subscription. Personal subscribers will also have access to all content when logged in. Non-subscribers who register have free access to all articles published before 2006 right back to volume 1 issue 1. Register here to access the free archive of all BMJ Journals.

Don't forget to sign up for content alerts so you keep up to date with all the articles as they are published.