Allied Health Professionals

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Physicians often practice in concert with optometrists, nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, and other allied health professionals. Although physicians have overall responsibility for the quality of care that patients receive, allied health professionals have training and expertise that complements physicians’. With physicians, allied health professionals share a common commitment to patient well-being.

In light of this shared commitment, physicians’ relationships with allied health professionals should be based on mutual respect and trust. It is ethically appropriate for physicians to:

Help support high quality education that is complementary to medical training, including by teaching in recognized schools for allied health professionals.
Work in consultation with or employ appropriately trained and credentialed allied health professionals.
Delegate provision of medical services to an appropriately trained and credentialed allied health professional within the individual’s scope of practice.

AMA Principles of Medical Ethics: I, V, VII

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Opinion 10.2

Physician Employment by a Nonphysician Supervisee

Physicians who are simultaneously employees and clinical supervisors of nonphysician practitioners must give precedence to their ethical obligation to act in the patient’s best interest and exercise independent professional judgment, even if that puts the physician at odds with the employer or supervisee.

Opinion 10.4

Nurses

Nurses hold a primary ethical obligation to promote patients’ well-being; while physicians have overall responsibility for the quality of care that patients receive, good nursing practice requires that nurses voice their concerns when, in the nurse’s professional judgment, a physician order is in error or is contrary to good medical practice. Physicians’ relationships with nurses should be based on mutual respect and trust.