The Study on Patient-Centeredness and Influencing Variables in Medical Students

Moon, Seok Woo; Seo, Jeong Seok; Nam, Beom Woo; Sohn, In Ki; Hahm, Woong; Cho, In Hee; Kweon, Hyuk Jung

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The practicing of patient-centered medical services means a change in the pattern of the nature of doctor-patient relationship. The doctor oriented relationship is now moving to the pattern that patients resolve problems autonomously and participate in the decision-making in medical services. Authors performed this study to investigate the patient centeredness and influencing variables in medical students.
METHODS
Authors recruited 94 medical students before psychiatric clinical clerkship and all subjects were assessed by structured questionales including socio-demographic data, frequency of receiving doctor-patient relationship lectures, Minnesota multiphasic personality inventory (MMPI), Meyers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI), the authoritarian personality scale (AP), job satisfaction scale (JS), patient practitioner orientation scale (PPOS), problem-solving decision-making scale (PSDM), and Beisecker locus of authority in decision-making scale (BLAS), and the questionnaire of JS, PPOS, PSDM, and BLAS were rechecked after psychiatric clinical clerkship.
RESULTS
After psychiatric clinical clerkship, the score of JS, PPOS were higher than before. The group who had a good memory for taking a doctor-patient relationship lecture showed higher scores of the BLAS and PSDM than unexposed group. The AP was related with MBTI, correlated with the subscale of MMPI, however, inversely correlated with PPOS after psychiatric clinical clerkship.
CONCLUSION
The authoritarian personality trait was related not only with other personality trait including introversion and psychopathic deviation (Pd) but also with patient-centeredness. Taking a lecture in doctor-patient relationship is positively related to the patient-centeredness.