Essential advice about protecting yourself online. The article looks into cases and GMC guidance around online activity and social media, with key things you need to know as a medical student and junior doctor.

Anju arranged a clinical elective in a remote, resource-limited healthcare facility in a third-world country where state-funded healthcare was very limited.

James was a final-year medical student who had arranged a clinical elective in Cambodia. He had secured the placement through his uncle, who was an intensive care doctor working in the area.

Lisa arranged a clinical elective in a remote town in South America through a family connection – a relative who was a practising doctor in that region. She wanted to explore the use of holistic and alternative medicine in underserved communities.

Medical student Tomasz organised an elective with a charity that delivered health camps in remote villages. The camps were staffed by doctors from various countries and offered gynaecological surgery to women without regular access to medical care.

Communication with patients and colleagues is not just about exchanging information, it is about building trust, and fostering partnerships. This article explores the benefits of effective communication with patients and colleagues, the challenges of both, and how to overcome them and we provide some advice on maintaining personal and professional boundaries.

As we celebrate SAS Week, Dr Karen Ellison, a former SAS doctor and Medicolegal Consultant at Medical Protection, examines how the SAS Six can help deliver the NHS 10-year plan’s commitment to investing in and supporting this vital group of doctors.

Patients can make a complaint about any aspect of the medical care they receive. Find out about some common reasons for patient complaints.

As a doctor you are surrounded by systems, processes, governance, and colleagues who can provide support when something goes wrong. What about when you face an issue or concern in private practice?

In a recent Medical Protection survey almost a third of doctors questioned were not comfortable discussing organ donation with a patient. With different laws across the UK and further changes imminent, this is maybe not surprising

Warnings to doctors over the harmful effects of the valproate medications – which, if taken by girls or women of child-bearing potential, can cause birth defects and developmental disorders in children – have been circulating for years.

A medical student considers their early learnings from medical school so far and what they wish they had been told to consider when starting their gruelling studies.

Both legislation and the GMC’s guidance emphasise that doctors should presume that adults have the capacity to consent to or refuse a proposed treatment unless it can be established that they lack that capacity.

Dr Caroline Osborne-White, Medicolegal Consultant at Medical Protection, explains why it is worth joining the world’s leading medical defence organisation as early as possible in your medical career.

Dr Heidi Mounsey, Medicolegal Consultant at Medical Protection, looks at the dos and don’ts of social media use by medical professionals.

Treating high-profile patients can often present a unique set of medicolegal challenges and it is important that doctors protect themselves, as well as the patient. Dr Emma Green, Medicolegal Consultant at Medical Protection, discusses the common issues and sets out some advice

Dr Sean Weaver, Deputy Medical Director, and Cassandra Cameron, Head of Policy and Strategy, from the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch, look towards the 2023 introduction of ‘safe space’ in England – and what this means for patient safety

Dr Emma Green, medicolegal consultant at Medical Protection, recalls a harrowing experience encountering a violent patient and considers the impact on confidentiality when reporting criminal behaviour or assault.

Medical Protection Society (MPS) has recently submitted our response to the review of Good medical practice carried out by the General Medical Council (GMC) .