Parental Understanding of the Role of Trainees in the Ophthalmic Care of Their Children

Objective: To examine parental knowledge and expectations regarding the roles of trainees involved in their child's ophthalmic care. Design: Prospective survey. Participants: Parents of 128 children attending outpatient pediatric ophthalmology clinics at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Methods: A questionnaire was given prospectively to parents (and 1 custodial grandparent). They were asked to identify, using a checklist, the roles and responsibilities of medical students, residents, and fellows and to explore their expectations regarding trainee participation using a multiple choice questionnaire. Main Outcome Measures: Parental knowledge and expectations regarding the roles and participation of medical trainees in the ophthalmic care of their children as measured by survey questionnaire. Results: Parental knowledge about the roles of trainees was very limited with one exception: more than 95% knew that medical students are learning to be doctors and most had a good knowledge of the medical student role. More than 76% wanted to be asked specifically if they would allow trainees involved in their child's care. Seventy-five percent were happy to have capable trainees involved, provided that the trainees discuss all decisions with the responsible staff doctor. Parents wanted health care providers to identify themselves by name (77%) and position (86%). Only 3% did not want trainees involved in any part of their child's care. Conclusions: Although parental knowledge regarding the relative roles of trainees is poor, parents generally are willing to have trainees involved in their child's medical and surgical care, provided they are adequately supervised and that the parent is aware of their participation.