Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2012 Mar 22:12:13.
doi: 10.1186/1472-6920-12-13.

Patient attitudes towards medical students at Damascus University teaching hospitals

Rima M Sayed-Hassan  1 , Hyam N Bashour, Abir Y Koudsi
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Patient attitudes towards medical students at Damascus University teaching hospitals

Rima M Sayed-Hassan et al. BMC Med Educ. .

Abstract

Background: The cooperation of patients and their consent to involve medical students in their care is vital to clinical education, but large numbers of students and lack of experience as well as loss of privacy may evoke negative attitudes of patients, which may sometimes adversely affect the clinical teaching environment. This study aimed to explore the attitudes of patients towards medical students at Damascus University hospitals, and to explore the determinants of those attitudes thus discussing possible implications applicable to clinical teaching.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at three teaching hospitals affiliated to the Faculty of Medicine at Damascus University. Four hundred patients were interviewed between March and April 2011 by a trained sociologist using a structured questionnaire.

Results: Of the patients interviewed, 67.8% approved the presence of medical students during the medical consultation and 58.2% of them felt comfortable with the presence of students, especially among patients with better socio-economic characteristics. 81.5% of the patients agreed to be examined by students in the presence of the supervisor, while 40.2% gave agreement even in the absence of the supervisor. Privacy was the most important factor in the patients' reticence towards examination by the students, whilst the relative safety and comfort if a supervisor was available determined patients' agreement.

Conclusions: The study concluded overall positive attitudes to the medical students' involvement in medical education. However, it is essential that students and clinical supervisors understand and adhere to professional and ethical conduct when involving patients in medical education.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Reasons reported by patients for their comfort or discomfort with medical students' involvement.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Reasons reported by patients for approving or disapproving clinical exams by medical students under supervision.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. General Medical Council UK. Tomorrows Doctors, outcomes and standards for undergraduate medical education. 2009. http://www.gmc-uk.org/TomorrowsDoctors_2009.pdf_39260971.pdf
    1. Scottish Deans' Medical Curriculum Group. Learning outcomes for the medical undergraduate in Scotland: a foundation for competent and reflective practitioners. 3. 2007. http://www.scottishdoctor.org/resources/scottishdoctor3.doc - PubMed
    1. British Medical Association, Medical Education Subcommittee. Role of the patient in medical education. British Medical Association. 2008.
    1. Spencer J, Blackmore D, Heard S, McCrorie P, McHaffie D, Scherpbier A. et al.Patient-oriented learning: a review of the role of the patient in the education of medical students. Med Educ. 2000;34:851–857. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2923.2000.00779.x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Thompson AG. The meaning of patient involvement and participation in health care consultations: a taxonomy. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64:1297–1310. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.11.002. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources