Medical students’ and physicians’ attitudes toward patients’ consent to participate in clinical training

Abstract

Introduction: The responsibility of the medical training teamtowards a patient referring to an academic medical center hasnot been fully clarified. In this article we have looked at currentpractice in Medical University of Isfahan and evaluated theattitude of the medical team towards patients’consent to beinvolved in medical students’education.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, conducted in 2012, wedistributed self-administrated questionnaires among medicalmentors, residents and students of academic hospitals in Isfahan,Iran. This researcher-made questionnaire consisted of severalquestions concerning dimensions of informed consent. The datawere analyzed, using independent t-tests and ANOVA.Results: Ninety-one medical students (51 females) and 61members of medical training team (25 females) completed thequestionnaires. The overall average attitude score was 36.53±5.89out of 60, which is classified as fair. The average attitude score formedical students and mentors were not significantly different.The average attitude score of the female students was classified asgood, and was different from that of male students, significantly(p<0.05). By categorizing subjects into those with ≥5 years ofmanagerial or educational experience and those below 5, asignificant difference in average attitude score was documented(35.8±2.54 in Ġ5 and 34.0±2.9 in >5 group).Conclusion: The attitude of the medical team is thoroughly farfrom what is expected. Thus, the need to provide both medicalstudents and medical mentors with data on the importance ofobtaining patients’ consent to be involved in medical educationis highlighted.Keywords: Medical Students, Physician-Patient Relations, Informed Consent, Attitude