Evaluation of Medical Intern Doctors’ Knowledge and Attitudes on Medical Law and Emergency Department Practices
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Abstract
Medical interns frequently encounter legal and ethical challenges in clinical practice, especially in emergency departments. However, structured legal education remains underrepresented in undergraduate medical curricula. Understanding interns’ level of medical law knowledge is crucial to improving patient safety and reducing malpractice risks. This study aimed to evaluate sixth-year medical students’ knowledge of medical law and attitudes towards emergency department practices and to examine how these outcomes vary by demographic characteristics and career intentions. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Faculty of Medicine and involved 282 eligible final-year medical students in the 2024–2025 academic year. Data were collected through both online and paper-based surveys. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. The Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used for group comparisons. Results indicated that participants demonstrated high awareness of malpractice and informed consent, but notable gaps remained in their understanding of emergency department regulations. Only 1.4% of respondents considered themselves highly competent in health law. Knowledge and attitude scores were significantly higher among those planning to work in EDs (p < 0.001 and p = 0.035, respectively). Given the single-site and descriptive design of this study, the results should be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, they underscore the importance of reviewing current educational strategies and highlight the need to systematically evaluate and enhance undergraduate medical curricula in health law, particularly to improve medico-legal preparedness among medical trainees.
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