The knowledge of Polish medical students about surgical treatment of obesity

BACKGROUND: Surgical treatment of morbid obesity is becoming an increasingly important approach for the treatment of this condition. However, knowledge about the possibility of surgical procedures among general practitioners is far from satisfactory. The source of the problem might be due to a lack of information about bariatric surgery in university curriculum. METHODS: We assessed the knowledge of students from four Polish medical universities. The survey was conducted among 468 students, in their sixth (final) year of study. The survey included two parts—the first nine questions assessed of the level of the students’ knowledge about the methods of surgical treatment of obesity, and the following three questions allowed for an evaluation of the amount of information on metabolic surgery provided to students during surgery courses. RESULTS: The results demonstrate a low level of knowledge on the possibility of applying metabolic surgery to treat morbid obesity. The students themselves expressed a need to improve their knowledge and favorably assessed the proposition of expanding the curriculum to include more information on the subject of metabolic surgery. CONCLUSION: The awareness of surgical treatment for morbid obesity among medical students should be improved. The development of an interesting curriculum that is based on current guidelines should be undertaken.