What do family medicine patients think about medical students' participation in their health care?

Purpose. To find out what patients think about students' involvement in their health care. Method. After conducting semistructured interviews with 24 patients, the authors developed a questionnaire addressing patients' concerns about student involvement in health care. The questionnaire was administered to 735 patients in academic and community settings; 575 (78%) patients responded. Results. Most responding patients (90%) were willing to have a student involved in their health care. These who were unwilling commonly cited privacy concerns. A third of the patients reported that the student did at least Dart of the physical examination. Three fourths of the patients who saw a student, and half of those who did not, said they appreciated or would appreciate the attention they got from a medical student. Almost half the patients (39%) perceived that student involvement lengthened their visits. Conclusion. Most patients in family medicine are willing to allow students to be involved in their care, and most perceive it as beneficial.