Patients’ Perceptions Towards the Participation of Medical Students in Their Care

Abstract

Background: Patients Examination is an essential part of the medical education, through interaction with real patients, medical students learn most important skills like critical thinking, diseases, in addition to leadership, empathy, communication, and diagnosis, management of many professionalism. These skills are needed for the medical student to become an efficient physician. Objectives: Is to determine patient’s perception towards involvement of students in their medical care. Methods: An observational cross-sectional multicentric study was conducted in five major teaching hospitals in Mosul between February and April 2023. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 206 patients from internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and pediatrics departments. Data were collected through a validated structured questionnaire administered via face-to-face interviews. Results: A total of 219 patients were approached, and 206 agreed to participate (response rate: 94%). The median age was 27 years (range: 4 days to 87 years). Of the participants, 128 (62.1%) were female and 78 (37.9%) were male. Patients’ perceptions varied: on average, 90.3% agreed to medical student involvement for history taking, attending in the operating room, and performing examinations. However, only 58.7% approved  interventional procedures performed by students. Overall, 88.3% approved history taking and clinical examination under supervision, while 66% agreed to these activities without supervision.Conclusion: Patients have positive perception towards medical students, the agreement levels affected by the nature of interaction, presence of a supervision, gender, and the department they admitted in.