Exploring medical students' attitudes towards peer physical examination.
Charlotte E Rees1, Paul Bradley, John C McLachlan
1Institute of Clinical Education, Peninsula Medical School, Exeter, UK. charlotte.rees@pms.ac.uk
Medical Teacher
|January 28, 2004
Summary
Medical students show high comfort with peer physical examination (PPE) for most body parts. However, discomfort exists for breast and inguinal regions, with females reporting more unease.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Clinical Skills Training
- Student Attitudes
Background:
- Decreasing opportunities for traditional patient dissection and examination.
- Growing importance of peer physical examination (PPE) in medical training.
- Need to understand student perceptions of PPE.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore medical students' attitudes towards peer physical examination (PPE).
- To investigate the relationship between student demographics and attitudes towards PPE.
- To identify specific areas of discomfort in PPE.
Main Methods:
- A questionnaire-based study was conducted with 129 first-year medical students.
- The Examining Fellow Students (EFS) questionnaire was utilized.
- Attitudes towards PPE across different body regions and demographic factors were assessed.
Main Results:
- Over 97% of students were comfortable with PPE for most body parts, excluding breast and inguinal regions.
- More than 20% of students expressed unwillingness to participate in PPE of the breast and inguinal regions.
- Students reported greater comfort with same-gender PPE compared to cross-gender PPE, with females showing higher discomfort.
Conclusions:
- Peer physical examination (PPE) is a valuable tool, but specific anatomical regions require sensitive handling.
- Gender and anatomical region are significant factors influencing student comfort levels in PPE.
- Further research is needed to explore the impact of age and religious faith on PPE attitudes.
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