title: Would you consent to being examined by a medical student? Western Australian general public survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients generally have positive attitudes regarding being examined by a supervised medical student as part of their medical care. However, it is difficult to obtain model patients for students to examine purely for teaching purposes (i.e. in the absence of medical treatment).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study explored the effects of participants' demographics, characteristics of medical students, and the type of examination/procedure on whether individuals would consent to be examined by a medical student purely for teaching purposes.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four-hundred-and-two Western Australians completed an online survey in 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals were generally unconcerned regarding a medical student's gender and ethnicity. However, they would either not permit or wanted more advanced medical students to examine more intimate body regions and conduct more invasive procedures. Less observing medical students were permitted to be present for intimate examinations. Individuals who were male, aged≥25 years, Caucasian, and of no religious affiliation were more likely to permit formative year medical students to examine and conduct procedures on them. Additionally, these individuals were more likely to have had prior experience with a medical student and/or been hospitalised previously.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This information may be useful in terms of recruiting patient models for teaching purposes.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences, Monash University, VIC, Australia. Nicole.Koehler@monash.edu
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McMenamin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D003625:Data Collection; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D010808:Physical Examination; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods; D014904:Western Australia; D055815:Young Adult