Objective: This article explores ethical complexities that underlie resident-faculty relationships. The faculty-resident relationship is as complex as that between a therapist and his or her patient, but it has been far less well studied. Methods: From data obtained from psychiatry residents and faculty members regarding their experiences in this relationship, the authors present five vignettes that illustrate unethical conduct in the faculty-resident relationship. Results: Ethical lapses described in this article are problematic for two reasons: first, personal and professional harm may come to individual residents who find themselves interacting with an errant faculty member; and second, ethical lapses have the potential to damage the overall training environment itself. Once the terms of the faculty-resident relationship are discussed and accepted by all participants, unintentional or inadvertent ethical problems will be prevented, and residents will be in a position to identify faculty behaviors that do not conform to these agreed-upon expectations. Conclusions: This article highlights the importance of incorporating education about ethical responsibilities and faculty-resident boundaries into the training curriculum. The authors offer suggestions for understanding faculty members' responsibilities to residents in their training programs.