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Abstract Journal for Medico‐Legal

Journal for Medico-Legal ML001 INFORMED CONSENT PRACTICES BY JUNIOR MEDICAL OFFICERS: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY NICHOLAS SMITH, JOSEPH OVERLAND AND MARCUS WAGSTAFF Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia Purpose: Informed consent is a comprehensive process of informationbased assent by a patient to undergo a defined medical or surgical intervention. Informed consent is an essential process that occurs on a daily basis in hospital, and large numbers of these consents are conducted and documented by Junior Medical Officers (JMOs) under instruction and guidance from seniors. The aim of this study was to investigate the general knowledge, experiences and attitudes of JMOs towards informed consent at a large tertiary hospital. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out by the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, over a period of two months. The study population included all JMOs currently employed at the hospital, defined as Post-Graduate Year (PGY) 1-5+ doctors, who are not currently in advanced medical or surgical training. Results: The survey was submitted to 162 junior medical officers at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. We received 90 responses (response rate 55%). Our results show that there are deficiencies in our JMOs’ general knowledge of informed consent. Furthermore our study shows that there are several practices occurring with increased medicolegal risk. Conclusion: Informed consent remains one of the most important medical and surgical processes in hospitals. JMOs conduct a large number of written and non-written informed consents during their careers. Our study shows that the general knowledge and process of informed consent by this group could be improved. There are numerous resources at hospital and government level to assist doctors with this important process. © 2016 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons ANZ J. Surg. 2016; 86 (S1) 96