Medical students' attitudes to caring for a young infant - can parenting adoll influence these beliefs?

Aim-To investigate whether attitudes to parenting were altered in final yea r medical students following a period spent caring for a simulated infant. Methods-Seventy medical students during their paediatric attachment in the final year completed a questionnaire regarding personal childcare attitudes . Students attached to a teaching hospital were allocated a 24 hour time pe riod to care for ((Baby Think It Over" (BTIO), a computerised doll that sim ulates a 6 week old infant and records care given. The students then comple ted a second questionnaire assessing the impact of the experience. Results-Forty nine per cent of students thought their advice regarding sick children was less valid than if they had their own children; 96% of studen ts believed their approach to parents caring for young infants could be imp roved by caring for a 6 week old infant. All the students felt their lifest yle would be affected. Following the BTIO care period, 79% considered the e xperience straightforward, with 35% expressing a little more empathy and 15 % a lot more empathy for parents as a result. Thoughts regarding impact on lifestyle were unaltered. Caring for BTIO, however, was not considered to b e a realistic experience and overall not particularly useful. Conclusion-Simulated infants are of only limited value in increasing medica l student understanding of parental concerns.