assessing the impact of integrating the aetcom module on doctor-patient relationship into the first phase medical curriculum

Background: the doctor-patient relationship is an integral part of community care, which has long-term effects on patients' physical and mental well-being. competency-based undergraduate medical education curriculum 2019(cbme) has integrated a structured attitude, ethics, and communication (aetcom) program in the mbbs curriculum. aetcom module 1.3 focuses on the doctor-patient relationship (dpr).objectives: the objective of this study was to know the effectiveness of implementing an aetcom session on the dpr and to analyse the students' perceptions of the aetcom module 1.3.methods: this quasi-experimental study was carried out after obtaining institutional ethical clearance and consent from the participants. 157 out of 250 phase i mbbs students participated in the study. aetcom module on the doctor-patient relationship was taught to the first phase mbbs students through an interactive lecture, role play and videos. pre-tests and post-tests were conducted to find out the effectiveness of the module. the students' perception was assessed through a feedback-based 5-point likert scale. a paired t-test was used to determine the statistical significance (p-value < 0.05 considered significant).results: our study showed significantly higher post-test marks than pretest ones with a p-value <0.05. the students responded positively to the aetcom module and ascertained that it made them aware of the patient's rights and would facilitate future interaction with patients.conclusion: this study emphasizes the necessity of including the doctor-patient relationship module as a part of the medical undergraduate curriculum, as it will prime the students regarding their roles and responsibilities toward patients and the community.