The Awareness of 'Informed Consent', Among Medical Students and the Current Consent Practices at a Tertiary Care Hospital

Objective: Our study aims to document the awareness of 'Informed Consent', among medical students and to evaluate the current consent practices at a hospital setting in Islamabad. Study Design: Cross-sectional Survey. Place and Duration: The study was carried out at Islamic International Medical College (IIMC) and IIMC hospital complex at Riphah International University, Islamabad from March 2007 to May 2007. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire exploring the knowledge about informed consent was offered to the final year students. The post -operative patients at IIMC hospital were interviewed by research assistants, to study the consent practices in the hospital. Results: Out of the 100 final year students interviewed, 68% were females and 32% were males. The awareness of the process of 'informed consent' was observed in only 12 % of the respondents. Out of 100 postoperative patients, data were completed on 86 which included 33 (38%) men and 54 (62%) women. Approximately 41 of the participants (48%) were graduates and 45 (52%)had less than five years of school education. In only about half (52.5%) of the cases the consent form was signed by the patient himself/ herself. Conclusion: A deficient awareness of informed consent was observed in the final year medical students despite stringent institutional ethical practices. This lack of awareness at undergraduate level is translated into inadequate consent practices which were observed at the clinical scene. To improve awareness, improved training in ‘medical ethics' is required