Medical Students and Patients Perspectives on Bedside Teaching

Objective: To evaluate perspectives of medical students and patients on bedside teaching. Study Design: Cross-section survey Place and Duration of Study: Department of General Surgery/Pediatric Surgery Unit-ll, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan from 1st April 2019 to 30th June 2019. Methods: Two hundred students from 4th year and final year MBBS class were included and 100 patients from general surgery and general medical wards who stayed for at least 48 hours and had at least 2 case presentations and 2 consecutive morning rounds were enrolled in the study. Their perspectives about bedside teaching were assessed with two separate questionnaires. Results: The mean age of medical students was 23 years (20-26) and 35% were male and 65% were female. The mean age calculated for patients was 55.5 years (18-75). Fifty two percent were females and 48% were males. Fifty eight percent of medical students stated that the time of bedside teaching is not enough and it should be increased. Majority of patients were satisfied with the bedside teaching techniques and 82% of patients believed that through bedside teaching. No significant difference of responses among students and patients was observed. Conclusion: Teaching on the bedside provides unique opportunities to incorporate the learning skills for direct benefit of the patients. It provides a unique learning triad consisting of patients, students, and teachers and creates clinical simulation as a learning tool. Key words: Bedside teaching, undergraduate, medical students