Medical Students’ Perceptions of the Doctor-Patient Relationship: A Cross-Sectional Study from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction The physician-patient relationship is at the heart of the art of medicine. Patient-centered care is rapidly evolving as the standard of care as well as the optimal vehicle to achieve high-quality healthcare and good clinical outcomes. This study aims to examine the attitudes of pre-clinical (third-year) students from Alfaisal University (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) toward the physicianpatient relationship. Methods This cross-sectional study took place during the spring 2017 academic year. All third-year students (n=210) were requested to voluntarily complete an online and anonymous questionnaire. The questionnaire covered students' demographical characteristics (gender, nationality, and cumulative grade point average) and their response to a previously validated instrument, the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS), which explores the attitudes of medical students toward the doctor-patient relationship. Results In total, 132 students participated in the survey (n=132/210) with an overall response rate of 62.9%. Most respondents were female (56.8%), non-Saudi citizens (53.0%), and high achievers (70.5%). Most of the mean scores on the PPOS statements indicated patient-centered attitudes-that is, mean scores were higher than "3". The mean score for the overall PPOS was 4.0 ± 1.5, whereas the mean scores for the sharing and caring domains were 4.2 ± 1.5 and 3.8 ± 1.4, respectively. Univariate correlations between the students' demographics and their mean scores for the sharing domain, caring domain, and overall PPOS showed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05). Conclusion The pre-clinical medical students showed favorable patient-centered attitudes. There were no statistically significant differences between students' demographics (gender, nationality, and academic performance) and PPOS scores (sharing domain, caring domain and overall score).

Current state of ethical challenges reported in Saudi Arabia: a systematic review & bibliometric analysis from 2010 to 2021

“…The thematic evaluation found that 'Doctor-Patient Relations' with 18 publications was the second most studied domain. The synthesis of the included studies on medical ethics knowledge showed that most participants, mainly healthcare representatives had little knowledge about doctor-patient relations [ 32 , 33 , 36 , 41 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 48 ]. However, there was a strong consensus that every patient should be treated with honesty and dignity.…”

“…However, there was a strong consensus that every patient should be treated with honesty and dignity. Patients of a high socioeconomic class should not be treated with extra care, and confidentiality should be maintained in all circumstances [ 32 , 33 , 36 , 41 , 42 , 44 , 45 , 48 ].…”

“…Hence, in most cases, treatment is based on this relationship [2,4,7,8]. The doctor and patient are expected and recommended to work together to improve psychopathological conditions, with particular attention to therapeutic relationships that affect the patient's thoughts, emotions, and behavior [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49].…”

Healthcare students’ attitudes towards patient centred care: a systematic review with meta-analysis

“…After removing duplicates and screening studies by title and abstract, 129 potentially eligible studies for inclusion were considered and their full text was retrieved. After full text screening, 49 studies [ 6 – 9 , 18 – 62 ] met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review with 20 studies ( n = 8050) [ 6 , 7 , 9 , 18 , 25 , 26 , 28 – 32 , 36 , 39 , 43 , 45 , 46 , 49 , 52 , 54 , 55 ] providing sufficient data for meta-analysis. Two studies were conducted using the same data set as other included studies therefore, we only used data from the original report in our meta-analysis [ 63 , 64 ].…”

A 4-factor perspective of the patient-practitioner orientation scale (PPOS): a deeper understanding of patient-centredness

“…Therefore, whether patients are recognized as having the ability to choose in medical decision-making reflects attitudes towards the "doctor/disease centred" or "patient-centred" medical service models. This attitude varies among different populations, according to previous research data [21,23,29,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]. In more economically developed regions, both doctors and patients are more likely to develop a patient-centred attitude, while on the other hand, people in less developed areas are more likely to develop a doctor/disease-centred attitude.…”