Medical Students Raising Concerns

Abstract

After a number of high-profile incidents and national reports, it has become clear that all health professionals and all medical students must be able to raise concerns about a colleague’s behavior if this behavior puts patients, colleagues, or themselves at risk.

Detailed evidence from medical students about their confidence to raise concerns is limited, together with examples of barriers, which impair their ability to do so. We describe a questionnaire survey of medical students in a single-center, examining self-reported confidence about raising concerns in a number of possible scenarios. Thematic analysis was applied to comments about barriers identified.

Although 80% of respondents felt confident to report a patient safety issue, students were less confident around issues of probity, attitude, and conduct. This needs to be addressed to create clear mechanisms to raise concerns, as well as support for students during the process.