"It is recommended that medical students learn how to take a sexual history and gain experience in genital examination, but patients' reluctance may make this difficult to achieve, especially for male students," wrote the authors.

In the current study, researchers surveyed patients (250 male, 250 female) of a genitourinary medicine clinic to discover their attitudes toward the involvement of medical students during their visit. Patients' age, ethnic organization, parity, and number of clinic visits were documented, along with the gender of the medical student.

Level of participation was 92.8 percent for women, 79.2 percent for men. Younger women and men, first-time clinic visitors, and women without children were less likely to accept a medical student of either sex to take their sexual history or observe their examination. Female participants were less likely than men to accept students of either sex to take their sexual history or be present during the examination; however, they were more likely than men to accept only same-sex students.

The researchers documented "a high level of acceptability for the involvement of medical students. Only 12.5 percent of women and 15 percent of men declined to accept any participation by medical students. "Older women with children, and older men, were more likely to accept a student of either sex for all parts of the consultation. This information can be used to enhance the experience of male and female students and to minimize distress for those patients who are less likely to accept the presence of a medical student," the authors concluded.

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