Table 6. Supplemental online materials: pipetted survey questionnaire.
WA: Western Australia, QLD: Queensland
| Survey items |
| Page 1 |
| Project title: Perspectives on current attitudes, enablers, and barriers to obtaining surgical informed consent (SIC) for doctors-in-training |
| Q1. I hereby agree to be a participant in the above-named research. |
| Yes or No |
| Page 2: Demographics |
| Q2. Gender |
| 0 = Male OR 1 = Female OR 2 = Undeclared |
| Q3. Postgraduate year |
| Enter number_____ yy in years |
| Q4. At what level of training did you receive formal instruction on obtaining surgical informed consent (SIC) for procedures? |
| 0 = Medical school OR 1 = Internship OR 2 = Residency years OR 3 = Registrar years OR 4 = Fellowship years OR 5 = Never received formal training |
| Q5. At what age is a patient able to give a valid SIC? |
| Enter number_____ yy in years |
| Q6. Which of the following component/s are essential for obtaining a SIC? |
| 0 = Evaluation of competence OR 1 = Patient education OR 2 = Recording of consent OR 3 = Patients’ signature OR 4 = Surgeons’ signature OR 5 = Date of consent OR 6 = Others - please specify |
| Q7. Are you aware of the nocebo effect of informed consent? |
| 0 = No OR 1 = Yes |
| Page 3 |
| Q8. Who do you think should obtain the SIC? |
| 0 = The primary operator OR 1 = The consultant OR 2 = The fellow OR 3 = The trainee registrar OR 4 = The service registrar OR 5 = The resident OR 6 = The intern OR 7 = The medical student |
| Q9. In a situation where a patient is not capable of providing SIC, who is the next best person to provide a SIC? (Select all that apply.) |
| 0 = The patient OR 1 = Next of kin OR 2 = Next of kin with enduring power of attorney OR 3 = Next of kin with enduring power of guardianship OR 4 = Family member OR 5 = Friend OR 6 = Hospital administrator |
| Q10. When do you think is the best time to obtain a SIC for a non-emergency procedure? |
| 0 = The outpatient clinic OR 1 = On the ward OR 2 = Holding bay OR 3 = The anesthetic/induction room OR 4 = On the operating table |
| Page 4 |
| Q11. How strongly do you Agree or Disagree with each of the following statements (5-point scale)? |
| 1. Strongly agree, 2. Agree, 3. Neutral, 4. Disagree, 5. Strongly disagree |
| Valid SIC |
| a. I always check the patient’s competency to provide SIC. |
| b. All elective surgical procedures should have a valid SIC. |
| c. All emergency surgical procedures should have a valid SIC. |
| d. I use a structured proforma for obtaining SIC, e.g., WA or QLD Health Informed Consent Portal. |
| e. I always use the Royal Australia College of Surgeons’ procedure-specific consent. |
| Q12. How strongly do you Agree or Disagree with each of the following statements (5-point scale)? |
| 1. Strongly agree, 2. Agree, 3. Neutral, 4. Disagree, 5. Strongly disagree |
| Components of SIC |
| a. When obtaining a SIC, I ensure that I explain the diagnosis and the indications for the procedure. |
| b. When obtaining a SIC, I ensure that I understand all the risks, benefits, complications, and alternatives to the procedure. |
| c. When obtaining a SIC, I ensure that my patient has understood the procedure. |
| d. I am familiar with the Rogers versus Whitaker case and the importance of material risk disclosure. |
| e. I am comfortable with the process of obtaining a SIC. |
| Q13. How strongly do you Agree or Disagree with each of the following statements (5-point scale)? |
| 1. Strongly agree, 2. Agree, 3. Neutral, 4. Disagree, 5. Strongly disagree |
| Policies and procedures of SIC |
| a. I am aware of the presence of a hospital policy regarding informed consent for procedures. |
| b. I am familiar with the hospital policy regarding informed consent for procedures. |
| c. I often find myself in a situation where I have to obtain a SIC for a procedure I am not familiar with. |
| d. I often find myself having to obtain SIC for other specialties (e.g., percutaneous drainage done under radiology). |
| e. I believe that it is necessary to obtain formal training in obtaining surgical informed consent. |
| Page 5: Training |
| Q14. What is your preferred format for educational resources? |
| 0 = Pocket guide/handbook OR 1 = Lecture series with handout OR 2 = Video or web-based learning module OR 3 = Others - please specify |
| Q15. What improvements would you like to see implemented in the training curricula? |
| Page 6 |
| Q16. I would like to receive an executive summary of the research findings. |
| 0 = Yes or 1 = No |
| Q17. If you answered yes to the above question, please provide your preferred email address for correspondence: |
| The contact details provided will be extracted separately from the study data to maintain anonymity. |
| Please note that this research group takes your confidentiality very seriously. |
| At no time will the raw data collected in this survey be released to any third party. |
| Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. It is greatly appreciated! |
| End of the survey. |
| https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SICWA |