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MEDICAL

Lecturer fined for slapping student

A lecturer from Uppsala University has been fined the equivalent of 60 days' wages for striking a medical student across the face during a practical demonstration.

The incident took place during a lecture attended by 70 to 80 medical students. As part of the day’s lesson, the lecturer selected one member of the class to participate in a demonstration on how to act when checking patients’ levels of consciousness.

With 70 to 80 of her peers in attendance, the student was asked to lie on her back on the lecturer’s desk. The lecturer, who also works as a neurologist at Uppsala University Hospital, then proceeded to slap her repeatedly across the face while her classmates looked on and laughed.

The woman claimed that she was hit so hard that she winced. But she tried to remain still due to the importance of the lesson.

When she was finally able to return to her seat she said she was ashamed that neither she nor any of the other students had intervened to stop the demonstration.

Two hours later, smarting from the pain and with her cheeks still red, she reported the matter to faculty leaders.

She later told police that she had always found public appearances difficult and had not wanted to take part in the lecturer’s demonstration but had lacked the courage to refuse.

She was not informed that she would be struck and was completely unprepared when the lecturer suddenly called out her name and smacked her in the face.

The lecturer told Uppsala District Court that the demonstration served an educational purpose. But the court agreed with the student’s assertion that the lecturer’s actions in fact constituted assault.