International Journal of Health Sciences

Patient Safety in Undergraduate Curriculum: Medical Students’ Self-Rating of Knowledge and Preferred Methods of Learning
Almansour, Rawan MSc; Gammon, John, Prof

Abstract
Background: Educating medical professionals at all levels, including during their undergraduate degree courses, is one way of improving the quality of healthcare and enhancing patient safety (PS). Despite the growing demand for quality and safety topics in medical curricula, in Saudi undergraduate medical education, these areas are not yet formally included. Methodology: This is a descriptive study that employed a survey method and had a quantitative cross-sectional design. The objective was to obtain students’ self-ratings of knowledge regarding PS and medical errors and to identify their preferred methods of learning at a medical school in Saudi Arabia before their internships. Students from years three and four were used as a sample, with a total number of 310 students selected. The data collection tool was a web-based, self-reported questionnaire sent to the students via Survey Monkey, which was also used to descriptively analyse the collected data. Results: Ninety-seven students participated in the study. The students’ self-rating of knowledge suggested that they had a medium to high level of knowledge about the theoretical questions related to ‘different types of error’, ‘factors contributing to error’ and ‘factors are influencing PS’. However, they had a medium to low level knowledge about practical elements, including ‘speaking up about errors’ and ‘error reporting’. Conclusion: This survey demonstrated broad student support for incorporating topics related to PS in their study programme. More studies should be conducted in the future to gather more information to help develop and evaluate such programmes.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijhs.v4n2a6