UW EM Residents Team Up with UW Law Students for Novel Medicolegal Workshop
It may seem like an unlikely pairing, but University of Washington Emergency Medicine residents and University of Washington School of Law students teamed up for a half-day workshop focusing on medical malpractice.
Medicolegal Day is a novel medicolegal curriculum jointly offered by the UW Department of Emergency Medicine and the UW School of Law. The event returned for the first time since 2019 with the goal to increase the medicolegal knowledge of UW EM residents and faculty.
Dr. Nicole M. Chicoine Mooney, JD, MD led the workshop, which included four parts: a presentation by Chicoine Mooney, which covered the basics of medical malpractice law; a presentation by UW trial Professor William Bailey, which addressed lessons learned from historical UW medical malpractice cases; a mock deposition, where UW EM residents were deposed by UW law students, in the role of plaintiff lawyers, based on a real UW EM case; and an expert panel question-and-answer forum of both plaintiff and defense lawyers with medical malpractice expertise.
“Having MedicoLegal Day in person is essential for the curriculum’s efficacy and simulates real life,” said Chicoine Mooney. “Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, we have been unable to offer it for the last three years. Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, and well received by both the UW EM Residency Program and the UW School of Law. Usually, the average participation ranges from 50-60 attendees. This year we had over 110!”
There is also the concern that residents feel inadequately prepared to handle medicolegal issues. The workshop’s curriculum not only educates residents and faculty, but it provides a safe environment to ask questions of legal experts and prepares them for real-life circumstances.
“Unfortunately, physicians are forced to deal with the legal system daily. Physicians face medicolegal issues from informed consent, health care directives, capacity, to medical malpractice and everything in between. Grim statistics exist with respect to medical malpractice claims against physicians,” said Chicoine Mooney.
Chicoine Mooney pointed out that law students also benefit from this workshop. They learn the basics of medical malpractice law and how to review a medical record. She continued, "They also learn how to prepare for a deposition, and practice deposing a ‘plaintiff resident physician’ in a comfortable, collaborative environment."
The workshop appears to be the first of its kind among residency programs in the entire country, according to Chicoine Mooney. She encourages other residency programs to offer something similar.
“It is practical - minimizing residents’ time away from clinical hours, as it requires only a half-day,” said Chicoine Mooney. “Any interested faculty or resident could organize the curriculum. A legal background is not necessary. A practicing lawyer could present and organize the legal panel. And the local law school could provide the law students. Most importantly, residents will learn and have fun. Our residents have found it to be one of the most popular conferences of their residency.”
The workshop will return in 2025.
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