Public attitudes toward practice by medical students: a nationwide survey in Japan

It is essential for medical students to interact directly with patients. However, patients may be reluctant to be seen by medical students in settings in which they may also be seen by senior staff.

To understand patients' attitudes toward practice by medical students and consider the factors involved in obtaining patients' cooperation, we conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey.

We randomly selected 2,400 adult participants from all over Japan. Trained research assistants inquired about participants' experiences and attitudes toward practice by medical students using a questionnaire. We compared differences in attitudes between participants who were accepting of practice by medical students and those who were not, as well as differences between participants who had experienced practice by a medical student versus those who had not.

A total of 1,109 (46%) participants were included in the study. Eleven percent (117/1109) of the participants had experienced practice by a medical student. One fourth of participants were accepting of practice by medical students, and experienced participants were significantly more likely to be accepting of practice by medical students than inexperienced participants (45% vs. 24%, p<.001). Impressions of practice by medical students among accepting participants with previous experiences included "polite," "kind," and "hard-working." Fifty-nine percent (637/1088) of participants indicated that they would request a senior staff member's supervision when being seen by a medical student.

The present nationwide survey suggests that education emphasizing bedside manner may be effective in promoting patients' cooperation of medical students. In addition, providing information to patients about medical students and efforts to increase supervision during clinical clerkship should be emphasized to foster the public's cooperation.