Patient safety: Perceptions of Medical Students of Dow Medical College, Karachi

Objective: To assess medical students' perceptions about patient safety issues before the teaching of "patient safety" can be recommended. Methods: The cross-sectional survey was undertaken at the Dow Medical College and Civil Hospital, Karachi, in September, 2013. Data collection tool was a structured questionnaire administered to medical students. The main outcome measures were students' perceptions about patient safety issues and their attitude towards teaching of patient safety curriculum. Results: There were 229 medical students in the study with a response rate of 100%. Overall, 129(57%) students agreed that medical errors were inevitable, but 106 (46.9) thought competent physicians do not make errors. While 167(74%) students said medical errors should be reported, 204(90%) thought reporting systems do not reduce future errors. Besides, 90(40%) students thought only physicians can determine the causes of error and nearly 177(78%)% said physicians should not tolerate uncertainty in patient care. Overall, 217(96%) agreed that patient safety is an important topic; 210(93%) agreed that it should be part of medical curriculum; 197(87%) said they would like to learn how to disclose medical errors to patients and 203(90%) to faculty members. Conclusion: A significant knowledge gap existed among medical students regarding patient safety issues. The teaching of 'patient safety' was highly supported by students and needs to be included inmedical curriculum on an urgent basis.