Let the patient teach: Patient feedback will help prepare medical students for the changing healthcare world

Dear Sir

In medical education, patients are typically used passively to practice clinical skills and are excluded from evaluation processes. Although medical education has shown adaptability to meet the broadening role of physicians, for example through teaching of management, advocacy and collaboration skills, relatively little has been done to meet the changing role of the patient. As healthcare becomes more collaborative (Swan 2009), patients are increasingly involved in their own care. Furthermore, formal assessments of patient satisfaction data are becoming linked to physician compensation (Sussman et al. 2001), giving patients greater responsibility in evaluating the system and its professionals. To be successful in this new paradigm, medical education must produce physicians who can function effectively in a world where patient feedback is central to their success.

Why should students care about patient feedback?

First, patient feedback is a key method for understanding satisfaction. Dissatisfied patients may act against their best interest, for example by not complying with their care plan if they are unhappy with their course of care or their relationship with their provider. As such, managing patient satisfaction can be deemed both a moral and professional responsibility for a physician and should be a core skill for medical students.

Second, new patient-driven online evaluations of healthcare providers (Swan 2009), such as www.RateMD.com, have the potential to directly impact physician reputations. Many of these platforms have potentially enormous influence and reach. Physicians need to be trained to dialogue with their patients so these online platforms are not the only or default outlet for patients to discuss their healthcare experiences.

Finally, as patients collaborate with their providers, they expect a more empowered and more patient-centered relationship (Swan 2009). Engaging patients to understand their experience will be a critical component of achieving true patient-centered care.

What steps need to be taken?

Curricula should consider enhancing the role of patients in medical education by incorporating patient feedback into student evaluation schemes to complement pre-existing methods. This exercise could help students better appreciate how patients perceive them and train them to solicit patient feedback themselves.

Trends are increasingly motivating physicians to satisfy patients. By incorporating patient feedback into curriculums, medical schools will take steps to produce physicians who live patient-centeredness and are focused on improving their patients’ experiences and satisfaction. Patients undoubtedly have a lot to teach, they simply need to be given the opportunity.

Pierre Robichaud, James East, Leslie Beard and Dante Morra, Centre for Innovation in Complex Care (CICC), Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON M5G 2C4, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]