patient-centeredness of hidden curriculum in medical education

Background: a significant gap exists between patient-centered health policies and medical graduates' practice. medical education is not restricted to the formal curriculum. the hidden curriculum has a powerful effect on students' learning and behavior. this study measured the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum in mashhad medical school. methods: the participants were medical students at mashhad medical school who were about to graduate. the sample size was determined 100 students based on the morgan table and selected in a convenient method. the validated persian version of the haidet instrument with three content areas of role modeling, student's experiences and support for students' patient-centered actions was used to evaluate the patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum. descriptive indexes and independent samples t-test were used for analysis.results: the mean±sd score of patient-centeredness of the hidden curriculum was 54.9±9.4, slightly more than half of the total questionnaire score. the area of support for students' patient-centered actions received a higher mean±sd score (62.1±16.5) compared to role modeling (53.9±12.3) and student experiences (53.6±9.4). additionally, medical students emphasized the professor's role in acquiring patient-centered care.conclusion: despite the formal education for patient-centeredness, students learn mainly from the practical environment and their educators' behaviors. there was a relative dissonance between the formal and implicit curriculum regarding patient-centeredness associated with the medical student. the medical students' experiences regarding patient-centered manners and giving encouraging feedback are two chief points for improving patient-centeredness.