[The recognition of the general public in clinical clerkship and our challenge]

Medical students are expected to learn not only academic knowledge but also other kinds of behavior, such as ethics, cooperativeness, and communication skills. Clinical clerkship has recently become increasingly important, but there are several problems in the standardized educational system, human resources of medical education, and recognition of the general public. A questionnaire survey was performed concerning clinical clerkship and medical education. A total of 100 responses were received from patients and their families. The results clearly showed that the general public had a lower-than-expected awareness of clinical clerkship (n = 24). Some patients and their families expressed anxiety over the students' medical care (n = 43). There are some problems of patient safety and the quality of medical care, and personal medical information. However, the remarks of the general public indicated that they desired to participate actively in medical education because they had high expectations of medical students (n = 63). It is necessary to promote the understanding of the clinical clerkship among the general public and to share medical education with society, as well as improvement of patient safety education for medical students.