Medical Ethics: Awareness about Consent and Documentation among Medical Interns, University of Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Journal Title: International Journal of Medical and Health Sciences - Year 2013, Vol 2, Issue 3
Abstract
Background: Obtaining informed consent is a legal and ethical necessity before treating a patient. Interns are considered to have the same duties about consent and documentation as licensed physicians. The aim of the present study was to assess the level of awareness about consent and documentation among medical interns, college of medicine, university of Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Material and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 87 medical interns attached to the family and community medicine training center, for their family medicine clerkship rotation. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire which consisted of socio-demographic characteristics and questions to assess awareness about different aspects of consent and documentation. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression tests were used for statistical analysis. Results: The total awareness score about consent and documentation among medical interns was 63.2% and 57.5% respectively. Majority of interns show agreement with most international ethics codes and protocols, Islamic codes of ethics, Islamic Jurisprudence and fatwa. Logistic regression analysis showed that attending ethics training courses (OR = 0.108, CI=0.026-0.454) and the sources of information where those who had their sources of information from health facilities (OR =1.54, CI = 1.217-1.950) were associated with good awareness about consent. No factors were found to predict awareness level of documentation among medical interns. Conclusion: although most medical interns had good knowledge about consent and documentation, still there were important gaps in their knowledge. Principles of medical ethics should be incorporated in undergraduate medical training and during internship.
Authors and Affiliations
Magdy A. Darwish, Amr A. Sabra
Keywords
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