Improving medical students' attitudes towards the chronic sick: a role for social science research

Kenneth Mullen,Malcolm Nicolson,Philip Cotton

doi:10.1186/1472-6920-10-84

Kenneth Mullen, Malcolm Nicolson + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-10-84

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Abstract

BackgroundMany medical students are negatively disposed toward the elderly and chronic sick. The present study assessed the impact of a community-based teaching initiative, the Life History Project, on students' attitudes to these groups.MethodsA questionnaire including Likert based responses and free text comments was distributed to all first-year MBChB students after completion of their Life History coursework. Data was analysed using SPSS and content analysis.ResultsA high proportion of students believed the Life History Project had increased their understanding of both psychological and social aspects of health and illness and the role of the humanistic social sciences within this. We discovered that the Life History Project not only gave students first-hand experience of the elderly and chronic sick but also had a positive effect on their attitudes towards these groups. The qualitative free text comments corroborated these views.ConclusionsIt is possible to positively influence medical students' attitudes towards these stigmatised groups; it is therefore important that we continue to enhance opportunities for learning about the impact of chronic illness on individuals and society throughout the curriculum.

Highlights

Many medical students are negatively disposed toward the elderly and chronic sick
Qualitative Analysis Students were asked three open-ended questions: 1) ‘What did you like best about the Life History project?’ 2) ‘What did you like least about the Life History project?’ and 3) ‘What improvements to the Life History project could you suggest?’ Following on from this, analysis identified five themes as follows
’I liked being given the opportunity to gain insight into the life of a person suffering from a chronic illness.’ (3)

Summary

Introduction

Many medical students are negatively disposed toward the elderly and chronic sick. The present study assessed the impact of a community-based teaching initiative, the Life History Project, on students’ attitudes to these groups. The purpose of medical education is to produce good doctors. The attributes of the good doctor have recently been helpfully explored by Macnaughton [1]. She emphasises the centrality of a training in biomedicine both to provide the medical student with an understanding of how the body works and to inculcate an appreciation of the nature and importance of research. To be able to assimilate the scientific knowledge of disease and treatments with the understanding of the individual patient.’. To achieve this understanding requires a degree of insight into the contexts of patients’ lives.

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