Does medical student willingness to practise peer physical examination translate into action?

Background: Peer physical examination (PPE) is commonly used in clinical skills teaching to allow students to practice physical examination techniques on each other. Previous studies have demonstrated medical students' generally positive attitudes towards PPE, but the correlation between student attitude and actual practice of PPE has yet to be examined.

Aim: To determine if a positive student attitude towards PPE leads to subsequent action.

Methods: The target population were MBBS I students (2006-2007 cohort) admitted to the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. Student attitude towards PPE and subsequent practice of PPE were assessed through self-completed written questionnaires before and after the compulsory Clinical Skills Programme (CSP).

Results: A total of 100/128 (78%) students completed both questionnaires, of which 83 (65%) could be linked to demographic data. All study participants were ethnically Chinese. A high level of willingness to conduct PPE persisted before and after the CSP for both male and female students. However, more than half of the students did not subsequently examine various non-intimate body regions of a fellow student during the CSP. Female students were more likely to exhibit attitude-behaviour inconsistency.

Conclusion: The existing positive attitudes towards PPE need to be harnessed so that more students are encouraged to follow through and actually practise PPE, thus realizing the educational benefits of this activity. This may be done by ensuring that PPE is conducted in a safe setting while being conscientious of gender differences. Scheduled time and the use of a logbook may be useful to facilitate students practising PPE.