Medical students in general practice: how do patients feel?

BACKGROUND The General Medical Council has recommended that medical students should gain more experience in general practice. AIM The study set out to determine patients' reactions to the presence of medical students in general practice consultations. METHOD Patients attending a random sample of general practice surgeries completed a questionnaire following consultation with and without a medical student present in six general practices in the Oxford area. RESULTS The questionnaires were completed by 278 patients. Only eight (3%) of all respondents had negative responses to the presence of a medical student. Of those completing questionnaires following a teaching consultation, 107 (56%) felt positively about the presence of students, compared with 36 (41%) who had attended a nonteaching surgery. Only three patients (1%) felt the quality of the consultation to be impaired by the presence of a student, while 48 patients (17%) felt there to be some improvement. The majority felt that the sex of the student was unimportant, but significantly more female than male patients (17% versus 5%) felt that it made a difference. CONCLUSION Only a small proportion of patients object to the presence of a medical student in general practice consultations. A significant minority said that the presence of a student improves the consultation.