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Residents' perspectives on forensic issues and the impact of postgraduate forensic medicine education on perceived
Alper Özkök1, Seda Saçal2, Ümit Şimşek3
1Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, 06500, Türkiye. alperozkok@gazi.edu.tr.
Background:
Physicians frequently encounter medicolegal issues, necessitating adequate forensic knowledge to manage these situations effectively. Evaluating residents' views on forensic issues is crucial for assessing forensic medicine education's current status and identifying future specialists' needs.
Methods:
171 residents from five specialties (pediatrics, internal medicine, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine) participated in a pre- and post-survey after attending a course covering forensic reports and documentation, physicians' legal responsibilities, and medical malpractice. The study assessed residents' perceived competence, concerns-attitudes, and opinions on these topics and how the training influenced their approaches.
Results:
Before the course, a significant proportion of residents reported feeling incompetent, particularly in their knowledge of forensic report preparation (77.8%), malpractice (78.4%), and physicians' legal responsibilities (88.9%). Many residents felt pressured by the risk of malpractice (66.1%) and were concerned about repercussions from legal authorities due to potential mistakes in reports (58.5%). Reflecting these apprehensions, the vast majority preferred issuing provisional forensic reports (%90.1) rather than final reports. Most residents believed they did not receive sufficient forensic medicine training during medical school and expressed a strong need for further education. Post-training assessments showed significant improvements in residents' perceived competence (p < 0.001) and their preference for preparing final reports (p < 0.001), alongside a significant decrease in concerns about legal authorities (p = 0.032) and malpractice (p = 0.014).
Conclusions:
Residents' approaches toward medicolegal issues are of great importance as they shape their future practices. Adequate education fosters a proper medicolegal perspective and self-confidence, shielding them from anxiety, defensive practices, malpractice claims, and burnout throughout their careers.
