SRS51 - Taking informed consent: effect of studying in English and practising in arabic on the experience of junior surgeons

Abstract In Bahrain, although the language of medical education and practise is English, patient interactions are mainly in Arabic. This is a study explores the effect of having studied medicine in English on Bahraini junior surgeons’ experiences when taking informed consent for procedures from Arabic-speaking patients. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to analyse semi-structured interviews with 10 participants from different surgical sub-specialities practising in a hospital in Bahrain. The results showed that the most method used to learn consent taking was experiential learning. The major factors affecting participants confidence were the presence of senior supervising personnel, using the language of the patient, and the educational level of the patients. However, code-switching was a source of cognitive load for some surgeons, which could negatively affect their confidence. Most interviewees found explaining medical matters in English easier than Arabic, and most consent were only in English, while some new forms are bilingual. Although code-Switching facilitates communication and helps deliver the message fast, the lack of formal teaching of this skill contributes to the surgeons’ stress and cognitive load. Knowledge and training can increase surgeons’ confidence. The development of a new consent form that contains both languages is a good corrective move. This study recommends establishing clear guidelines to reduce the cognitive load associated with code-switching when taking informed consent. Further research is needed into code-switching to understand it from healthcare providers and patients.