Knowledge Evaluation of Surgical Technologists about Laws and Standards of Patients Rights in the Academic-Medicinal Hospitals of Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2016-2017

The surgical technologist’s knowledge of the rules and developed standards related to patients rights has an effective role in protecting these rights and advancing therapeutic, legal and human goals.
Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 143 surgical technologist in 9 hospitals affiliated to Iran University of Medical Sciences. Data were collected through a research made questionnaire tested by applying Cranach’s alpha for measuring reliability. In addition, both face and content validity of the questionnaire have been checked by faculty members. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics such as chi-square test and Pearson correlation using SPSS version 19.
The results indicated that 19.6% of surgical technologists had a low level of knowledge, 39.2% of them had an average level of knowledge and 41.3% had a good level of knowledge. The highest level of knowledge was in the item of “Choosing a counselor” and the lowest level of knowledge was in the item of “Choosing and decision making” for requesting non-rehabilitation and additional treatment”.
Discussion and The findings revealed that the majority of participated surgical technologists had a good level of knowledge about the patient rights charter. Regarding the fact that the highest and lowest level of knowledge were related to “the right to choose and decide freely”, it is suggested to maximize the quality and efficacy by training medical staffs and enhancing their awareness of various aspects and minimize the complaints from them.