Patients' attitude towards medical students rotating in the dermatology clinic.
OBJECTIVE
To study the attitudes of the patients towards medical students rotating in the dermatology clinic in the King Fahad Hospital of the University (KFHU).


METHODS
One hundred and two adult outpatients attending the KFHU in Alkhobar, Saudi Arabia during the period March to June 2004 completed a questionnaire to evaluate their receptiveness towards medical students attending with the dermatologist.


RESULTS
Almost 57% preferred physician and medical student participation in their care and 46% welcomed their presence during physical examination. The majority of patients (64.8%) felt comfortable disclosing personal information to the medical student and (68.7%) enjoyed the interaction with the medical students. Patients (63.7%) agreed that the students understood their healthcare needs.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of the patients in this study enjoyed their interactions with the students and felt comfortable disclosing information. Some patients want to spend time alone with the physician so permission for medical student participation should be requested.
Bukhari
Iqbal
I
Dermatology Department, Community Medicine Department, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia. consultant@dermatologyclinics.net
AlAkloby
Omar
O
Al Saeed
Wafa
W