Medical Students?? Involvement in Outpatient Clinical Encounters: A Survey of Patients and Their Obstetricians???Gynecologists

Abstract

Most women would allow medical students to participate in their care, a finding moderated by a number of factors. A small proportion of women were biased against participation of male medical students. Physicians overestimated patients' ratings and might themselves be a source of bias regarding medical students' involvement.

Impact of educational messages on patient acceptance of male medical students in OB–GYN encounters

“…Multiple studies have highlighted the fact that patients who have previously seen medical students are more likely to allow future medical student participation (Hartz & Beal, 2000;Mavis et al, 2006;Rizk et al, 2002;Simons et al, 1995).…”

“…Patient age has been found to be related to acceptance in a variety of settings including internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and sexual medicine with increasing age associated with greater likelihood of acceptance (Gress et al, 2002;Mavis et al, 2006;O'Flynn & Rhymer, 2002;Rizk et al, 2002;Shann & Wilson, 2006;Thurman, Litts, O'Rourke, & Swift, 2006). No specific reason has been given for this finding, but it is possible that there may be a cohort effect happening where younger patients are more accustomed to having choices about healthcare, and the presence of medical students in ambulatory medicine.…”

“…Indeed, women overall rate provider gender as far less important to them in their choice of an OB-GYN than the provider's empathic qualities (e.g., being caring and gentle; Mavis et al, 2006). Therefore, it is possible that while women do not state that they consider provider gender when asked explicitly; they may believe that males are much less likely to possess the attributes that they prefer a provider to have.…”

“…While the average rate of acceptance of medical students is between 60 and 80%, this is often lower in OB-GYN settings, especially for male students. There are specific variables which may affect the acceptance of medical students into patient encounters, such as the presence of medical students in sensitive settings, especially OB-GYN (Chang et al, 2000;Grasby & Quinlivan, 2001) and past experience with medical students (Mavis et al, 2006;Simons et al, 1995). Additionally, medical student gender, specifically males in OB-GYN settings, has been found to negatively affect patient acceptance rates (Higham & Steer, 2004;O'Flynn & Rhymer, 2002;Tang & Skye, 2009).…”

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“…The bias regarding the involvement of the medical students seems multifaceted and could affect the students' perceptions of the specialty. [5][6][7][8][9] Nevertheless, data from an exploratory study with Gynecology ambulatory patients conducted at a university hospital in the city of Brasília, Brazil, and approved by the Committee of Ethics of the Faculty of Medicine of that institution (under CAAE 45773315.3.0000.5558) unveiled a distinct preference profile regarding Ob-Gyn. In the personal interview with 435 patients awaiting a call for their consultation, 2.1% among them preferred a male Ob-Gyn physician, 17.0% preferred a female one, and 80.9% indicated no gender preference.…”