Table 1.
Surveys Questions and Responsesa
| Survey question | Answer | N (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Have you ever been in a situation in which there was a need for a medically trained person to respond? | Yes | 152 (48.6) |
| No | 160 (51.3) | |
| How many times in the past 12 mo? | 0-2 situations | 146 (96.1% of those who answered yes) |
| >3 situations | 6 (3.9% of those who answered yes) | |
| Which of the following factors would increase the likelihood of you assisting in a situation in which there is a need for a medically trained person to respond?b | Confidence in your medical knowledge | 275 |
| Confidence in your medicolegal knowledge | 141 | |
| Other | 6 | |
| How comfortable are you regarding your knowledge of Good Samaritan laws? | Comfortable | 123 (41.1) |
| Not comfortable | 176 (58.9) | |
| How confident or not confident are you about Good Samaritan laws protecting Good Samaritan acts that you may perform? | Confident | 148 (49.3) |
| Not confident | 152 (50.7) | |
| Do you think that awareness of Good Samaritan laws is essential for a medical professional (eg, MDs, DOs, and equivalents)? | Yes | 279 (93.6) |
| No | 19 (6.4) | |
| Do you think there is a need for education to increase knowledge about Good Samaritan laws during the training of a medical professional? | Yes | 268 (89.3) |
| No | 29 (9.8) | |
| When do you think training regarding Good Samaritan laws would be most appropriate? | During medical school | 117 (43.8) |
| During residency | 123 (46.1) | |
| Other | 27 (10.1) | |
| Before receiving the survey, have you ever specifically looked up Good Samaritan laws? | Yes | 48 (16.3) |
| No | 246 (83.7) | |
| On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being “No concern” and 10 being “Very concerned,” please rate your level of concern regarding litigation arising out of a Good Samaritan act performed by you. | Concern | |
| Low (0-3) | 131 (44) | |
| Moderate (4-6) | 100 (34) | |
| High (7-10) | 64 (22) | |
| Will you research Good Samaritan law once you finish this survey? | Yes | 43 (14.6) |
| No | 81 (27.6) | |
| Have you taken any undergraduate or postgraduate courses in the field of law? | Maybe | 170 (57.8) |
| Yes | 12 (4.1) | |
| No | 282 (95.9) |
a
MD = doctor of medicine; DO = doctor of osteopathic medicine.
b
Choices for this question included confidence in medical knowledge, confidence in medicolegal knowledge, both equally, and other. Respondents who answered as both equally were included in both categories; thus, the resulting total is more than the number of respondents.