Informed consent: perceptions and practice of orthopaedic trainees

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Patient Rights

Background:

• Informed consent is vital for patient autonomy in medical treatment decisions.
• Surgical trainees frequently obtain consent with insufficient training, skills, or experience.
• Gaps exist in understanding and applying informed consent principles among trainees.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess orthopaedic surgical trainees' exposure to informed consent education.
• To evaluate trainees' self-perceived ability to obtain informed consent effectively.
• To determine the frequency with which trainees address key informed consent elements.

Main Methods:

• An eight-item questionnaire was used to assess trainees' informed consent experiences.
• The survey targeted trainees in Australian orthopaedic surgery training programs in 2019.
• Data was collected from 102 out of 239 distributed questionnaires.

Main Results:

• 99% of trainees felt confident obtaining consent, but many failed to address crucial elements.
• Only 29% consistently discussed goals of care, and 21% identified the performing surgeon.
• Trainees with prior education were more likely to address key consent elements.

Conclusions:

• A discrepancy exists between trainees' perceived competence and actual practice in informed consent.
• While most trainees received some education, formal instruction and assessment are insufficient.
• Enhanced, explicit teaching and formal assessment of informed consent are recommended during surgical training.