Reactions of Psychiatric Outpatients to Teaching Interviews

Abstract

Summary: In an attempt to assess some of the reactions of psychiatric -.outpatients attending a teaching clinic, a group of patients who received a letter warning them of the possible presence of students were compared with a group who did not receive such a letter. The "letter" group were generally more satisfied with their interview and were less likely to say that they had consciously withheld information. Greater satisfaction was also expressed by patients over 35.When asked whether they preferred to see one student in private and then the psychiatrist with a small group of other students, or to have the whole interview conducted by the psychiatrist in front of the group, patients expressed a clear preference for the former choice. This former method may also allow more responsible and active participation by the students.

Attitudes of psychiatric inpatients to medical student interviews

“…Most patients in this study expressed a positive attitude towards student interviews. These results are supported by several other studies 3,5,7,8,10 . The finding that this positive interaction is not significantly affected by sociodemographic variables such as age, sex, marital status, and length of hospital stay is similar to that reported elsewhere 5,7,10 .…”

“…In addition, most studies report that patients benefited physically and emotionally from these interactions. These positive findings were observed irrespective of social class, sex, age, and length of hospital stay, inpatient or outpatient status and level of psychiatric interview skill or experience of the medical student 3,5,7 . The findings are generally valid across various medical specialties: surgery, 14 obstetrics and gynaecology, 5,9 general medicine, 2 geriatrics 6 and psychiatry 6…”

“…If the interactions between patients and doctors are the cornerstone of medical practice, 1 then the interactions between patients and medical students must be the foundation. The attention given to patient‐medical student interaction in scientific literature 2–9 is therefore deserved and needs to be sustained.…”

“…It is important to emphasise that patients may suffer emotionally and physically from interactions with medical students especially where consent or co‐operation have not been adequately sought. Violation of privacy, as well as physical and emotional discomfort, are common experiences reported by patients exposed to medical student interactions, especially among those who refuse these interviews 5–10 . Formal and detailed consent or requests for interviews are frequently not obtained from patients; many are not even aware of the teaching status of the hospitals they are attending 6,8 .…”