The Effect and Significance of Early Clinical Exposure of Medical Students From the Viewpoint of Communication and Medical Students' Research Into the Doctor-Patient Relationship

Abstract

Many medical schools have recently introduced clinical exposure in the early years of training. During this period of early clinical exposure, medical students observe many aspects of a hospital and its staff. Because they do not yet have any special knowledge of medicine, medical students are able to understand problems in medicine from a patient's point of view. We sent questionnaires to students of several medical schools and investigated what students learned, especially about communication. We reported on voluntary research by some medical students at Osaka University. We believe that early clinical exposure gives medical students a chance to recognize and consider many aspects of medicine.