Does the status of surgical resident compared to that of consultant have an impact on patient's satisfaction over the informed consent process?

OBJECTIVE: The informed consent process is a fundamental element of best practice in the surgical patient's care. The aim of the present study is to investigate the value of informed consent from the patient's perspective in a Teaching Hospital. In particular, the role of the Residents within this process is analyzed to compare their performance with that of Consultants.

DESIGN: This is a prospective observational study based on a consecutive cohort of patients who were offered an elective surgical procedure during the period April 2015 - September 2015.

SETTING: The study was conducted in the Surgical and Transplantation Unit of the University Hospital of Udine, Italy, accredited by the Joint Commission International.

PARTICIPANTS: The study population consisted of 236 patients. The participants were asked on a voluntary basis to fill in a self-evaluating questionnaire after being requested to complete a written informed consent before the operation.

RESULTS: In the present study we didn't register any significant difference of patient's satisfaction over informed consent when we evaluated the performance of Residents in comparison to Consultants.

CONCLUSIONS: We believe that our positive results may be related to our educational training approach. However, adequate education of Residents about seeking informed consent is not sufficient to guarantee an effective informed consent process if it is not supported as a counterpart by the promotion of correct and positive patient knowledge and perception of the Residents' skills, clinical role and responsibilities.

KEY WORDS: Educational program, Informed consent, Informed consent process, Patient's satisfaction, Resident.