Early student-patient interactions: the views of patients regarding their experiences

This study was designed to investigate the experience and attitudes of patients to being interviewed by first-year medical students. A questionnaire was sent to 120 patients who have been interviewed during the last four years. Patients were asked what they felt about the process, what they understood was the purpose of the interview and if they felt they had benefited in any way from the interview. There was a 76% response rate. The majority of respondents (82%) felt they had benefited from the process, describing the experience as useful and interesting. Benefits included the opportunity to talk to someone about their problems, a feeling of use and improving the skills of future generations of doctors. It is concluded that patients enjoy being involved in the early education of medical students. As patients prefer students to be well prepared it is important that the students are adequately briefed before the exercise.