Impact of students in non‐teaching hospitals

Summary Background The placement of medical students in non‐teaching hospitals is the norm worldwide. The suggestion that teaching standards are inferior in non‐teaching hospitals has been studied and refuted. This study explores this from a different perspective: the impact of medical student presence on the teachers, hospital environment and patient care at King Saud Medical City, as assessed by clinical supervisors. Methods A questionnaire was distributed to clinical supervisors on the internal medical rotation at King Saud Medical City, College of Medicine, Al Imam Muhammed Ibn Saud Islamic University, Saudi Arabia. The view of supervisors on the impact of medical students on clinical supervisors themselves, the hospital environment and patient care was elicited. This study explores… the impact of student presence on teachers, hospital environment and patient careResults Between 69 and 84 per cent of respondents believed medical students had a positive effect on their practice, including increased reflective practice, increased enthusiasm and prompts to review basic medical knowledge. Accordingly, 85 per cent of clinical supervisors believed that their continuing medical education had been improved. A majority of respondents reported a positive impact on the hospital environment, with 66 per cent believing patient care to have improved. Discussion Numerous studies have confirmed the standard of education in non‐teaching hospitals to be as good as or better than in the corresponding teaching hospitals. It has also been shown that non‐teaching hospitals fulfill the needs of medical students. It is suggested that this study demonstrates a positive impact of medical students on the clinical teachers in a non‐teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia, with a significant proportion of teachers believing the hospital environment and quality of care to be improved by their presence.