Medico-legal Knowledge and Awareness Among Anaesthesiology and Reanimation Physicians in Türkiye: A Nationwide Survey.
- 1Van Yüzüncü Yıl University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anaesthesiology and Reanimation, Van, Türkiye.
Abstract
Objective
Anaesthesiologists undertake substantial clinical, organisational, and medico-legal responsibilities throughout perioperative care. This nationwide survey evaluated self-reported and questionnaire-assessed knowledge of professional, organisational, and medico-legal responsibilities among anaesthesiology and reanimation physicians practising in Türkiye.Methods
This nationwide cross-sectional survey included anaesthesiology and reanimation physicians practising in Türkiye. Participants completed a structured 36-item questionnaire assessing professional duties, legal responsibilities, informed consent, documentation, and the medico-legal framework. A total of 311 physicians participated. Descriptive statistics and exploratory subgroup analyses were performed.Results
Participants demonstrated excellent awareness of core clinical responsibilities, with 98-99% correctly identifying essential duties such as preoperative assessment, anaesthetic technique selection, and perioperative decision-making. However, important knowledge gaps were identified in the organisational and medico-legal domains. Approximately half of the participants were unaware of responsibilities related to operating theatre management and sterilisation processes, and only 47% correctly recognised responsibility for anaesthesia-related equipment and supplies. Although only 43% reported adequate knowledge of current legal regulations, knowledge assessed by the questionnaire varied considerably across domains. Nearly half of the participants had not previously taken part in structured medico-legal educational activities.Conclusion
Despite excellent awareness of core clinical responsibilities, important deficiencies were identified in questionnaire-assessed medico-legal knowledge, while self-perceived knowledge of current legal regulations remained limited. Structured medico-legal education should be integrated into residency training and continuing professional development to strengthen professional accountability, documentation practices, physician-patient communication, and safe anaesthesiology practices.
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BibTeX
@article{gunes2026medicolegal,
title = {{Medico-legal Knowledge and Awareness Among Anaesthesiology and Reanimation Physicians in Türkiye: A Nationwide Survey.}},
author = {Hacı Yusuf Güneş},
journal = {Turkish journal of anaesthesiology and reanimation},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.4274/tjar.2026.262588},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969362},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Medico-legal Knowledge and Awareness Among Anaesthesiology and Reanimation Physicians in Türkiye: A Nationwide Survey.
AU - Hacı Yusuf Güneş
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Turkish journal of anaesthesiology and reanimation
DO - 10.4274/tjar.2026.262588
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969362
AB - Objective Anaesthesiologists undertake substantial clinical, organisational, and medico-legal responsibilities throughout perioperative care. This nationwide survey evaluated self-reported and questionnaire-assessed knowledge of professional, organisational, and medico-legal responsibilities among anaesthesiology and reanimation physicians practising in Türkiye.Methods This nationwide cross-sectional survey included anaesthesiology and reanimation physicians practising in Türkiye. Participants completed a structured 36-item questionnaire assessing professional duties, legal responsibilities, informed consent, documentation, and the medico-legal framework. A total of 311 physicians participated. Descriptive statistics and exploratory subgroup analyses were performed.Results Participants demonstrated excellent awareness of core clinical responsibilities, with 98-99% correctly identifying essential duties such as preoperative assessment, anaesthetic technique selection, and perioperative decision-making. However, important knowledge gaps were identified in the organisational and medico-legal domains. Approximately half of the participants were unaware of responsibilities related to operating theatre management and sterilisation processes, and only 47% correctly recognised responsibility for anaesthesia-related equipment and supplies. Although only 43% reported adequate knowledge of current legal regulations, knowledge assessed by the questionnaire varied considerably across domains. Nearly half of the participants had not previously taken part in structured medico-legal educational activities.Conclusion Despite excellent awareness of core clinical responsibilities, important deficiencies were identified in questionnaire-assessed medico-legal knowledge, while self-perceived knowledge of current legal regulations remained limited. Structured medico-legal education should be integrated into residency training and continuing professional development to strengthen professional accountability, documentation practices, physician-patient communication, and safe anaesthesiology practices.
SN - 2667-677X
SN - 2667-6370
ER -