Published in:
01-11-2019 | Triage
Impact of Medical Students on Patient Satisfaction of Pregnant Women in Labor and Delivery Triage
Published in: Maternal and Child Health Journal | Issue 11/2019
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Objectives
Clinical rotations are an important aspect of undergraduate medical education. However, as patient satisfaction scores receive increasing attention, the impact of medical student participation on patient satisfaction and perception of quality of care is unclear. Previous studies from the Emergency Department and outpatient settings show that medical students do not negatively impact satisfaction scores. The authors sought to examine the effect of medical student involvement on patient satisfaction in the Labor and Delivery Triage setting.
Methods
The authors conducted a survey study of a convenience sample of pregnant patients seen in and discharged from Labor and Delivery between January 2015 and April 2016. Surveys addressed questions about the overall satisfaction with the care patients received, as well as other outcome measures such as comfort with asking questions, time spent with a physician, and politeness of staff.
Results
240 total surveys were collected. After excluding surveys from those that were unsure whether a medical student was involved in their care, 168 surveys were used in the final analysis. Of these, 63.7% of subjects reported being seen by a medical student. There was no significant difference (p = 0.76) in overall patient satisfaction between groups.
Conclusions for Practice
Given the lack of a negative impact of medical student involvement on patient satisfaction, medical students should continue to be active members of the healthcare team, including in specialties such as obstetrics and locations such as Labor and Delivery triage with highly sensitive and time-dependent evaluations.