What hysterectomy [corrected] patients want to know about the roles of residents and medical students in their care.
OBJECTIVE
To determine what patients want to know regarding the participation of trainees in their care.


METHODS
In 1995, questionnaires were sent to 111 women who had undergone elective hysterectomies between September 1992 and June 1994 at two teaching hospitals at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. The questionnaires asked the women about their awareness of and attitudes toward the participation of residents and medical students in their care and about how they thought physicians should communicate information regarding residents to patients.


RESULTS
Fifty-nine women (68%) returned the questionnaire. Thirty-seven of them (63%) knew that a resident had been involved in their care. Eighty percent of the respondents felt it important to know how residents were supervised and what they would do during the operation. Nearly half did not know whether a medical student had been involved in their care. Over 90% agreed that the attending gynecologist should tell patients that a resident would participate in the operation as well as what the resident would do. Most believed that residents are adequately supervised and that medical students have time to provide more attention to patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the women wanted to know about the participation and specific roles of residents and students. Attending physicians should take the initiative to talk with patients about the roles of trainees. Open discussions can promote patient autonomy, maintain public confidence in academic health institutions, and benefit future patients.
Kim
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HN
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, USA.
Gates
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D001294:Attitude to Health; D003142:Communication; D030881:Disclosure; D005260:Female; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008875:Middle Aged; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D012495:San Francisco; D013337:Students, Medical; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires