Evaluation of knowledge levels and attitudes about the legal authorities and responsibilities of family medicine assistants in izmir

Purpose: The medical profession is one of the riskiest practice areas. The physician must know not only the medical aspect of the case regarding his patient, but also the administrative and judicial aspects. Physicians can be held responsible for the harm they cause to their patients knowingly or carelessly or through negligence during their professional practice, for not complying with the rules of the law regarding medicine, for not applying the latest scientific methods required for diagnosis and treatment, and for their inexperience in their profession (1). This study aims to determine the knowledge level and approaches of assistant physicians who are receiving specialty training in family medicine departments in Izmir about their legal powers and responsibilities. Method: Our cross-sectional analytical study was applied to Family Medicine assistants studying in Izmir between October 2021 and November 2021. A total of 209 Family Physician assistants were reached. In this study, sociodemographic patient information survey questions and a knowledge level and attitude survey created by the researcher by scanning the literature and relevant laws were applied to individuals. This survey was delivered virtually and data was collected via the online survey form. The data of the study were evaluated using IBM SPSS version 26 program. In statistical evaluation of the data, p<0.05 was considered significant. Findings: An online survey was administered to 209 assistant physicians studying in the specialty of Family Medicine in Izmir between October 1, 2021 and November 30, 2021. 62.2% (n=128) of the participants were women, 38.8% (n=81) were men, and the average age was 28.22±2.23. While 60.3% (n:126) of the medical practice years were 3 years or less, 39.7% (n:83) were 3 years or more, and 57.9% (n:121) of the years of assistantship in family medicine were years. 1st seniority, 13.9% (n:29) 2nd seniority, 28.2% (n:59) 3rd seniority. While 16.7% v (n:35) had received training on legal powers, 83.3% (n:174) stated that they had not received training. 12.9% (n:27) of the participants had been investigated before, and 87.1% (n:182) had not been investigated. 8% (n:2) of those who were investigated were punished. 82.8% (n:173) stated that they had regular professional insurance every year, and 17.2% (n:36) stated that they did not have regular professional insurance. 16.7% (n:35) stated that they gave a white code, and 83.3% (n:174) stated that they did not give a white code. They stated that 31.6% (n:66) of information was accessed from institutions, 65.1% (n:136) from colleagues, and 79.4% (n:166) from the internet. Among the information questions, the question with the most correct answers is the 4th question, 'The physician has an obligation to conclude the medical intervention with improvement and to give assurance that the patient will regain his health.', and the most incorrectly answered question is the 5th question, 'Due to the damage you caused due to the physician's error while working at the FHC. The patient may file a lawsuit against you for financial compensation. Results: In our study on "level of knowledge about legal powers and responsibilities", which we conducted with Family Medicine assistant physicians studying in Izmir, attitudinal behaviors were found in which physicians had moderate knowledge and could be responsible for matters they did not know. The fact that malpractice cases are increasing day by day and the responsibilities and workforce imposed on family physicians are increasing, reveals that family physicians need to be given comprehensive training regarding physician rights and responsibilities, both during medical school education, during their assistantships or in-service training.