Students opinions on factors affecting doctor and patient relationship

Introduction: In today’s fast pace world, there is a greater need in building an effective doctor patient relationship, as patients also tend to expect more than just regular check-up sessions and demand a more holistic medical experience comprising of good doctor-patient relationship. Objective: To investigate students’ opinion on which factor is the most essential in building a good doctor-patient relationship Method: The study design for this study is cross-sectional study. Data was collected from 500 students via the prepared questionnaire and was scored using a scale from 1 to 5. Results were tabulated and analyzed. Result: Majority of students think that communication skills (87.65%) is the most important factor to establish a good doctor-patient relationship, followed by appearance (86.52%), manners (82.45%) and understanding (76.30%). Conclusion: Doctors communication and interpersonal skills encompass the ability to gather information in order to facilitate accurate diagnosis, counsel appropriately, give therapeutic instructions, and establish caring relationships with patients.