Complaint-driven preferences & trust: patient's views on consulting GP trainees

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Patient Experience
• General Practice Training

Background:

• Patient consent is crucial for work-based learning involving trainees.
• Patient refusal of trainees can limit valuable learning opportunities.
• Understanding patient perspectives can optimize trainee education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient views on consulting general practice (GP) trainees.
• To identify factors influencing patients' willingness to see GP trainees.
• To inform strategies for enhancing patient acceptance of trainees.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving 28 patients in The Netherlands.
• Purposive sampling of patients based on willingness to consult trainees.
• Semi-structured interviews and inductive thematic analysis of transcripts.

Main Results:

• Patient preferences for consulting trainees are driven by complaint type and trust.
• Urgent or minor complaints favor trainees based on timeliness and availability.
• Complex, long-term issues require trust in a doctor with a longitudinal relationship.

Conclusions:

• Patient willingness to consult trainees is fluid and depends on met preferences.
• Building patient trust in trainees' capabilities is essential.
• Optimizing trainee performance and patient trust can increase acceptance.