Exploring UK medical and social work students’ legal literacy: comparisons, contrasts and implications

摘要: To ensure acceptable practice standards both doctors and social workers should draw on relevant legal rules when reaching professional judgements concerning, for instance, children requiring protection, people with severe mental distress adults at risk, information sharing, consent to intervention service user involvement in their care treatment. Many practitioners use the law maintain high of professionalism. However, research has uncovered limited awareness poor health care. Academic benchmarks requirements professions centrally position knowledge secure decision-making. Model curricula exist. outcomes taught curriculum students' confidence skills have been relatively overlooked. This article introduces concept literacy, a distillation knowledge, understanding, values that enables connect practice, appreciate roles duties other communicate effectively across organisational boundaries. It presents 2006-2009 study 1154 UK medical 638 work students learning response rates 46% 68%. Significant differences were found between attitudes towards law, self-ratings skills. Confidence levels low anxiety high, especially among students, although teaching had some positive skill development. Social associated different themes latter foregrounding ethics, negligence liability, which could affect inter-professional working. Students are not fully prepared legally literate consequent need review time allocated for, content subsequent availability continuing