Clerkship Students' Attitudes Towards Patients And Health Care Personnel: Implications For Medical Education

Background: The former shtdies and observations indicate that medical shtdents vary considerably in their attitudes towards patients and health care personnel.Objectives: To study the attihtde of clerkship students towards select£:d types of patient and selected types of health care personnel.Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among clerkship students. The subjects received a self­ administered questionnaire with a covering letter explaining the project and outlining terms and conditions for participation. Since  twenty-one  subjects  did  not  return  the  questionnaire,  data  analysis  was  based on ill questionnaires. The items were 5-poinf Likert-type. The internal consistency of the items was 0.706. Factor analysis was used in order to load the individual attitudinal items into main factors.Results: There is a significant association between sex and attitudes towards medical personnel. Clerkship students showed a more positive attihtde towards acute illness than chronic illness. The clerkship students responded more positively towards the health personnel than towards the patients. The results are discussed in terms of the impact of clerkship students' attitudes on patients and health personnel.   Some possible justifications for these findings are discussed.Conclusions: Developing  key  skills  within the  medical curriculum, especially  communication and  information technology skills are essential.