Patients’ attitude towards bedside teaching in Tunisia

Abstract

ObjectivesTo assess patient' reaction towards bedside teaching at the University Hospital of Monastir (Tunisia) and to identify the factors that may influence it.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted during December 2012 at the University Hospital of Monastir. Each department, except the psychiatric department and the intensive care units, was visited in one day. All inpatients present on the day of the study were interviewed by four trained female nurses using a structured questionnaire.ResultsOf the 401 patients approached, 356 (88.8%) agreed to participate. In general, the results demonstrate that patients were positive toward medical students’ participation. The highest acceptance rates were found in situations where there is no direct contact between the patient and the student (e.g. when reading their medical file, attending ward rounds and observing doctor examining them). As the degree of students’ involvement increased, the refusal rate increased. Gender, age, educational level, marital status and the extent of students’ involvement in patient’s care were identified as the main factors affecting patients’ attitude. Conclusion: Taking advantage of this attitude, valorizing patient role as educator and using further learning methods in situations where patient’s consent for student involvement was not obtained should be considered to guarantee optimal care and safety to patients and good medical education to future physicians.

Patients’ Perception toward Medical Students’ Involvement in Their Surgical Care: Single Center Study

“…Although Vaughn et al argued about the lack of clear defined cut points between Education Research International 5 the positive and the negative perceptions, others like Simon et al found that patients' satisfaction did not increase or decrease when medical students were involved by using two controlled groups for assessment. This positive perception was consistent with previous studies that were done in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries [3,4,[12][13][14], keeping in consideration that those populations have to some extent similar cultural background and beliefs.…”

“…We found that 65.1% would allow medical students to present in the operation room. In comparison to Ben Salah et al they had a higher percentage (90.2%) regarding permitting the presence of medical students in the operation theatre [12] and the percentage was 57.7% in Marwan et al [14]. This perception led us to other essential queries about their perception about the medical students' role in the operating room.…”

“…Furthermore, Leung and Patil concluded that patient's willingness and acceptance of medical students' involvement in bedside teaching is not a beforehand guarantee toward operating room involvement [16]. As the involvement of the medical students increases, the refusal rate increases [8,12,14]. In other words, we should use these terms (presenting, observing, participating, and interacting) cautiously when asking patients about their willingness to involve medical students' in their health care.…”

“…Most of the participants found that dealing with medical students was enjoyable [12,18,19]. This might be due to the delightful feeling that people feel when they help others.…”

Participation of medical students in patient care: How do patients perceive it?

“…[ 6 ] Although patients feel compelled to let students observe them as they are being treated in a teaching hospital, they still have the right to decline the involvement of students whenever they feel uncomfortable. [ 7 ] Moreover, the participation of medical students in patient care may not be well received by the patients. [ 8 9 ] Literature suggests that the willingness of patients to discuss their personal information and to be examined by medical students is often affected by their sociocultural background and educational levels.…”