Patients' Attitude towards Undergraduate Medical Students at University Charity Teaching Hospital in Sudan.

BACKGROUND The cooperation of patients and their acceptance to involve medical students in their care is vital to clinical education. OBJECTIVE To explore the attitudes of patients towards medical students at University charity teaching hospital, and to explore the determinants of those attitudes. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted at University charity teaching hospital affiliated to University of Medical Sciences and Technology (UMST). Four hundred and thirty-two patients were interviewed between January and December 2013 using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS Four hundred and thirty-two patients had responded to all questions they were asked. Of the patients interviewed, 95.2% approved the presence of medical students during the medical consultation. 79.8% of the patients agreed to be examined by students in the presence of a doctor, while 33.5% gave agreement even in the absence of a doctor. More than half of the patients think that it is important that students examine patients as part of their training and 18 % of them were not sure about the importance of clinical examination. CONCLUSION The study concluded overall positive attitudes to the medical students' involvement by patients. Patients preferred lower number of students to be involved; however, few were aware of their rights.