A survey of Canadian psychiatric residents regarding resident-educator sexual contact

BACKGROUND AND METHOD: A survey of all Canadian psychiatric residents was undertaken to ascertain the prevalence of resident-educator sexual contact in training programs, the residents' feelings about this contact, their knowledge of the ethical standards of the profession, and the extent of the information they had been given about this subject. An investigator-designed questionnaire was circulated to all psychiatric residents in Canada through the directors of postgraduate training programs. To ensure confidentiality, the residents returned their questionnaires directly to the investigators. RESULTS: Of the 314 respondents, 4.1% (N = 6) of the female residents and 1.2% (N = 2) of the male residents reported sexual involvements with their educators. Although the majority of these eight residents had positive or neutral feelings about the contact, 37.5% (N = 3) of the involved residents had mixed feelings. The residents' education concerning resident-educator sexual contact was strikingly sparse. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need for inclusion of this tissue in residency programs.