Prescribing Patient Associations: Bringing Medical Education Closer to the Patient’s Reality.
Abstract
Introduction: Traditional medical education has limitations in developing patient-centered competencies, particularly regarding understanding the illness experience and the role of non-clinical stakeholders. Patient associations have emerged as key actors within healthcare systems; however, their integration into medical education remains limited. This study evaluates the perceived educational value of an educational intervention based on the participation of patient associations and other healthcare system stakeholders among medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted among fifth-year medical students at a Spanish university. The intervention consisted of a seminar entitled “Prescribing Patient Associations,” involving participation from a patient association and representatives from the pharmaceutical industry. Data were collected an online questionnaire including demographic variables, dichotomous questions, and a Likert scale (1–5) to assess satisfaction, learning, and perceived relevance. Descriptive analysis was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v29. Results: A total of 114 students participated (mean age 23.8 ± 3.6 years; 60.5% female). While 72.8% were previously aware of patient associations, only 14.9% had had direct contact with them. The activity received high scores in understanding the illness experience (4.54 ± 0.64), recognizing the importance of the patient perspective (4.70 ± 0.57), and perceived usefulness of patient associations (4.44 ± 0.67). Recommendation to integrate this activity into the curriculum was also high (4.44 ± 0.80). Qualitative analysis showed an overall positive appraisal (30%), alongside suggestions for improvement (26.7%), mainly focused on greater patient involvement and a more practical approach. Conclusions: Integrating patient associations through a multi-stakeholder educational model represents an innovative, feasible, and highly valued strategy. This approach enhances understanding of the patient perspective and promotes a more humanistic and context-oriented medical education. Its incorporation into the curriculum could contribute to better alignment with current healthcare system needs.
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