[Hopeless Dork]

Doctor/patient is severely different power exchange than adult student/adult teacher. Doctors scribble down words on a peice of paper that we sometimes can't even READ, yet we take it to the pharmacy and take whatever is they said to take. We trust them with our LIFE. That is POWER. We let them put us unconcious and cut open our bodies and sew us up because we expect them to have our best interest in mind. We expect them to be ... almost beyond human. We are taught from the time we are little that no one has the right to see us or touch us, except for doctors, they are okay... they are safe.

A doctor entering into even a consentual relationship with a patient would never be balanced. An adult teacher however, teaching to an adult student... they may have the persons admiration... but they do not hold the persons life in their hands in the way a doctor does.

Its innapropriate for a teacher to have sexual relationship with student, it can affect how the person is graded etc... they may be treated more harshly or less harshly based on the relationship status. Just like a boss with an employee, it can adversely effect or positively effect performance evaluations, promotions etc. That is the reason most people get fired for those types of practices, even if the relationship is adults and consentual. I've never heard it was ILLEGAL... as in a boss would go to jail for having an affair with an employee... but it can be grounds for termination and or lawsuits if the employee feels like their job was effected by refusing to participate in the relationship etc...

In my opinion doctor/patient...is a lot more someone taking advantage of a situation, usually people aren't seeing a doctor or therepist because they are healthy and well, they are seeing them for a problem, medical or mental... and are likely in a much more vulnerable state.

[CHANDLERS WISH]

it is often against professional codes of ethics.

I think, you will find this is more to be the case, than illegal.

And, I also think that if you were to read legal cases, you would be talking about a psychiatrist who entes a "sexual" relationship with his/her patient for instance, as that patient had "mental issues" as to why they attended. Or a Doctor that was treating a woman for depression and entered a sexual relationship and she complained after that he took advantage of her, or a teacher that flirted back with a student, and then took it a step further.

In-other-words, the other person was a minor, or if an adult, was not in the state of mind to know what they were doing, and attended a professional for help but was taken advantage of.

Religion is a whole different thing. They have their own "rules" but it doesn't stop people from being people, if they are both consenting then they will both stand up for this, it will come back down to professional mis-conduct, code and ethics at 50 years of age.

CW

[kira]

, yet we take it to the pharmacy and take whatever is they said to take. We trust them with our LIFE

You might but I sure wouldn't advise it. I look up every medication given to me even if it's just antibiotics. I question every test and medical procedure. I double check every diagnoses. I've had too many bad doctors to trust them even the tiniest amount. Most of the time when I go to the doctor I already know what to ask for and most of the time my reasoning is sound enough that they give me exactly that. There's no way I'd give up that power. Doctors make far too many mistakes. The university hospital here has tried to kill me twice.