Court room exposure to medical students: A practical approach to legal procedures in Indian Scenario

Abstract

BackgroundEducation of law and bioethics has been recognized as an integral part of medical education. Medical professionals are required to contribute to the jurisprudence in various roles including the role of an ‘Expert Medical Witness’. Practical knowledge of legal procedures enables the medical professional to facilitate the judiciary in delivering justice in its right spirit. Unfortunately medical students lack this practical empowerment and thus may not be able to contribute to the justice system to the fullest potential during their professional life. We offered exposure to real life courtroom procedures to medical students to enhance their knowledge and confidence. Materials and methodsNinety seven medical students were exposed to real courtroom visits in batches of 20. They attended the legal proceeding of a medical witness examination in real case scenario and also interacted with the judge, public prosecutor and defense lawyer. All the relevant issues were discussed thoroughly before and after the court visits. A consensually validated questionnaire was used to determine the enhancement in their knowledge whereas their experience was assessed through a semi structured questionnaire. ResultsThe average knowledge level improved significantly from 34.4 (SD = 5.59) to 40.74 (SD = 5.35) [p < 0.001, 95% CI of the difference: (−7.455, −5.225)]. Only 7 students reported that they require more such visits to attain desired confidence level. The average rating for the whole process was 8.08(SD = 1.35) out of 10, with only 5 students rating the process below 5 points. ConclusionThe process served as an ice breaker for the doubts and fear about the court and legal procedures. This module may be refined and replicated to develop a medical professional who is confident and empowered about the legal system which will benefit the judiciary and in turn the common man of the society.