Medical students' attitudes to caring for a young infant--can parenting a doll influence these beliefs?

To investigate whether attitudes to parenting were altered in final year medical students following a period spent caring for a simulated infant.

Seventy medical students during their paediatric attachment in the final year completed a questionnaire regarding personal childcare attitudes. Students attached to a teaching hospital were allocated a 24 hour time period to care for "Baby Think It Over" (BTIO), a computerised doll that simulates a 6 week old infant and records care given. The students then completed a second questionnaire assessing the impact of the experience.

Forty nine per cent of students thought their advice regarding sick children was less valid than if they had their own children; 96% of students believed their approach to parents caring for young infants could be improved by caring for a 6 week old infant. All the students felt their lifestyle would be affected. Following the BTIO care period, 79% considered the experience straightforward, with 35% expressing a little more empathy and 15% a lot more empathy for parents as a result. Thoughts regarding impact on lifestyle were unaltered. Caring for BTIO, however, was not considered to be a realistic experience and overall not particularly useful.

Simulated infants are of only limited value in increasing medical student understanding of parental concerns.