Table 2.
Questionnaire: Knowledge, competencies and attitudes of GP post-graduate trainees on external post-mortem physical examination (n = 128). The n varies due to lack of response.
| Adequate | Half-and-half | Inadequate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| (A) Knowledge | |||
| How would you estimate your knowledge generally on the topic of external post-mortem examination? (n = 127) | 30.7% | 54.3% | 15.0% |
| How would you assess your knowledge on the specific procedure of the external post-mortem examination? (n = 128) | 33.6% | 52.3% | 14.1% |
| Yes |
No |
||
| Are you aware that the cause of death statistics in Germany relies on the information in the death certificates? (n = 127) | 78.0% | 22.0% | |
| (B) Competencies | |||
| Yes |
No |
||
| Do you always perform the external post-mortem examination on the fully uncovered corpse? (n = 118) | 33.1% | 66.9% | |
| Adequate |
Half-and-half |
Inadequate |
|
| How confident are you in the assessment of whether you should call the police or not? (n = 127) | 20.5% | 55.1% | 24.4% |
| How confident do you feel with the formal criteria required when filling out the death certificate? (n = 127) | 32.3% | 55.1% | 12.6% |
| How confident do you feel in identifying the identification of certain signs of death? (n = 126) | 61.1% | 35.7% | 3.2% |
| How confident do you feel in identifying a natural cause of death? (n = 124) | 17.7% | 74.2% | 8.1% |
| How confident do you feel in identifying an unnatural cause of death? (n = 122) | 4.9% | 63.9% | 31.1% |
| How confident do you feel in the judgment in situations where medical confidentiality may be broken? (n = 125) | 7.2% | 31.2% | 61.6% |
| How confident do you feel in determining the cause of death? (n = 124) | 3.2% | 65.3% | 31.5% |
| How confident do you feel in the documentation of the causal chain of cause of death? (n = 124) | 6.5% | 61.3% | 32.3% |
| How confident do you feel in determining the time of death? (n = 122) | 13.1% | 46.7% | 40.2% |
| How confident do you feel when specifying whether an infectious disease (as defined by the Infection Protection Act) is present? (n = 124) | 12.1% | 49.2% | 38.7% |
| How confident do you feel in dealing with cases of death that have occurred in connection with a medical intervention? (n = 124) | 3.2% | 48.4% | 48.4% |
| How confident do you feel in dealing with potential conflicts of interest, if you are at the same time the doctor in charge of the family of the deceased? (n = 119) | 12.6% | 59.7% | 27.7% |
| (C) Attitudes | |||
| Positive |
Neutral |
Negative |
|
| What is your attitude towards the external post-mortem examination? (n = 128) | 25.0% | 67.2% | 7.8% |
| Yes |
No |
||
| To me, the external post-mortem examination means the last service of the physician for the patient (n = 125) | 72.0% | 28.0% | |
| Do you feel personally uncomfortable with the examination of the corpse? (n = 122) | 35.2% | 64.8% | |