Not a personal story
Let’s say you live in a small town and you’re the town’s only doctor. Does that mean you couldn’t date anyone in town since they’re your patient?
If the relationship started outside the office, that shouldn’t be a problem. It’s when the only contact is in the office that it becomes unethical.
For example, they attend the same church, are on a sports team, belong to a service club, etc.
There is no law against it. The only time the law gets involved is if there is some kind of litigation down the road, in which case a court could decide that the girl was improperly influenced by the doctor, which could affect a monetary settlement. The professional relationship could open the door a bit wider for an interpretation of alienation of affections, or the very unlikely event of sexual abuse accusations.
Otherwise, social reputation is about the only thing at risk, so it is up the community to judge whether it is appropriate or not. In a small town, the community has a lot of experience judging appropriateness of behavior, and seldom learn from their mistakes.
Physicians should not date their own current patients. Sexual contact between doctors and their current patients is considered sexual misconduct and can lead to limitation of or loss of medical license, and in some states, prosecution.
In general it’s considered usually acceptable to date former patients, IF at least 6 months have passed. Note however that the American Psychiatric Association categorically prohibits sexual relationships with either current or former patients.
ETA: If you’re the only doctor in town, that does NOT make everyone in town automatically your patient. A doctor/patient relationship must first be established. If someone in town has never seen you professionally, or designated you as their care provider, they’re not your patient.
I’m sure doctors and medical students never sleep around anyway.
Well, they never sleep…
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ETA: If you’re the only doctor in town, that does NOT make everyone in town automatically your patient.
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It’s hard to imagine a community so small and isolated that everyone living there would have to be a patient of the local physician, since such a town would have great difficulty in attracting a doctor in the first place.
For any locale that fits such a description, the doc is best advised to invest in a good four-wheel drive vehicle and head elsewhere for potential dates.*
*shouldn’t be too hard to find that special someone, given the apparent success of the online dating service for yokels whose ads pop up every few minutes on TV.
Just so you know, they let straight women and gay men become doctors now too.
Perhaps you’ve never seen a 90’s documentary series called Northern Exposure…
