Abstract

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the interaction and relationship between clinical medical students and the pharmaceutical industry.
Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 5thand 6th-grade students studying at a medical school(2020-2021). The data were collected using an online questionnaire. “Scepticism scores” [0(not sceptical)-1(sceptical)] and “appropriateness scores” [0(promotions are appropriate) – 1(inappropriate)] were calculated for each student.
Results: Of the 106 students, 91.5% of them encountered a pharmaceutical representative at least once, while 55.6%had their first encounter in the pre-clinical phase. The most commonly accepted gifts were non-educational gifts(35.8%) and promotional brochures(34.0%). Students’ median scepticism score was 0.5 and the mean appropriateness score was 0.35±0.23. Appropriateness scores of females(0.39±0.21) were found higher than men’s(0.28±0.23;p=0.02). While 22% stated that the gifts/sponsorships may affect their own prescribing decisions, 34% believed that the decisions of their friends/colleagues would be affected(p

Key words: Drug industry, medical students, conflict of interest, promotion