Evaluating Medical Students' Knowledge of Medical Malpractice: A Pilot Study

Author:

Nikkhahmanesh NiaORCID,Kang Paul,VanSonnenberg EricORCID

Abstract

Introduction: Although medical malpractice lawsuits are common and have a tremendous financial and psychological impact on physicians, education about medical malpractice is almost non-existent in most medical school curricula around the world. Nonetheless, medical students are concerned about looming legal lawsuits during their careers and have expressed desire to become educated. The objective of the present study is to evaluate and gauge baseline medico-legal knowledge of medical students. Methods: A survey with 25 multiple-choice quiz questions regarding malpractice risks, standards of care, and malpractice premiums was prepared with information obtained from peer-reviewed articles after a thorough literature review failed to produce a validated questionnaire for medical students. The survey was distributed to medical students across 5 consecutive years at our medical school, totaling 420 students. Data from the survey was collected via Qualtrics before undergoing statistical analysis. Results: The completion rate for the survey was 110/420 (26.2%). The results showed that no group of students scored greater than 50% correct on the survey, with an overall median score of 40% correct for all students combined. Fourth year medical students correctly answered 1.77 more questions, on average, than first year medical students. There were no statistically significant differences in survey score between students with a personal or familial medical malpractice involvement. Discussion: The results are an indication that students are not well-educated about medical malpractice, and that medical malpractice education should be implemented in medical school to help prepare future physicians to protect their patients and hopefully avoid malpractice lawsuits.

Publisher

University Library System, University of Pittsburgh

Reference31 articles.

1. Guardado JR. Medical liability claim frequency among U.S. physicians. American Medical Association. Available from: https://www.ama-assn.org/sites/ama-assn.org/files/corp/media-browser/public/government/advocacy/policy-research-perspective-medical-liability-claim-frequency.pdf. Cited Mar 1, 2023.

2. Jena AB, Seabury S, Lakdawalla D, Chandra A. Malpractice risk according to physician specialty. N Engl J Med. 2011;365(7):629-36.

3. American Medical Association. Medical liability claim frequency among U.S. physicians. Available from: https://www.ama-assn.org/media/21976/download. Cited Sep 26, 2020.

4. Guardado JR. Prevalence of medical liability premium increases unseen since 2000s continues for third year in a row. American Medical Association. Available from: https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/sustainability/nearly-30-medical-liability-insurance-premiums-rose-2021. Cited Mar 1, 2023.

5. Kelly ET, Miller EA. Perceptions of medical malpractice and medical malpractice reform among first- and fourth-year medical students. Health Policy. 2009;91(1):71-78.

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

1. The Silent Casualties: War's Impact on Medical Students and Medical Education;International Journal of Medical Students;2023-12-21

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3