Differences in Attitudes toward Patients among Medical Specialties

Abstract

In a prior study a questionnaire was developed which reliably measured a variety of physicians' attitudes toward patients. In the present study we have used this questionnaire to compare the attitudes of physicians specializing in Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics and Psychiatry with one another and with a group of medical students. One way analyses of variance yielded highly significant differences (p less than .001) among these groups on the "Nurturant-Empathic" attitudinal dimension, as well as on the "Psychodynamic" and "Moral Weakness" Etiology Scales. Significance and ramifications of these findings are discussed in terms of the impact of these attitudes on treatment approach, clinical decision-making, and quality and comprehensiveness of patient care. Further, these findings suggest that a variety of education and training approaches could be advantageously utilized to integrate and upgrade the care of patients by the different medical specialties.

Differences in physician attitudes towards patient-centredness: across four medical specialties

“…These data are the first from the South‐East Asian region to characterise and demonstrate differences in physician attitudes between medical specialties. Our findings prompt further investigation and confirmation of whether physicians with particular attitudinal traits are attracted to medicine (and particular specialties) (20,21), or whether physician attitudes are acquired through professional experience and training (4–18). In addition, data from this study presents findings from an area which has received little attention in the literature and offers a little more insight into the attitudinal differences between the medical specialties examined here.…”

“…Differences in physician attitudes have been accounted for by differences in training unique to individual specialties (3) as well as experience and professional socialisation (8,17,18). However, the reverse may also hold true.…”

Are professional attitudes related to gender and medical specialty?

“…It has been suggested that attitudes affect career choice; others, however, have found only a weak relationship. 16 Even though other studies show similar results regarding ®nal-year students and vocational trainees, 12 there are several limitations to our study. First, only a cross-sectional comparison was made; groups were not followed over a longer period of time.…”

“…9 Differences in doctors' attitudes have been explained as a result of a complex learning process. 12 For instance, in general practice, a primary care specialty, many problems cannot be diagnosed neatly and many contain psychological and social elements, thus demanding a comprehensive approach and special attention to the consultation. 13 Because of this, vocational training in general practice devotes up to one-third of its curriculum time to interpersonal skills and attitude development.…”

“…Differences in attitudes have been af®rmed in several studies: patient-centred attitudes were most apparent among psychiatrists, followed by general practitioners, while doctor-centred attitudes were prominent among surgeons. 7,12 It has been proposed that these differences in attitudes, resulting from a combination of preference and training, can have an impact on the doctor±patient communication. 13 It would appear from our results that, while gender seems to be important for undergraduate professional attitudes, specialty orientation seems to become more important later in training.…”