ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: It is most pertinent that medical students are taught the necessary skills for digital rectal examination (DRE) before they become doctors. OBJECTIVE: The study is to assess the knowledge and experience of final year medical students regarding DRE for prostate and rectal tumours. METHODS: Well-structured questionnaire were administered to each of the final year medical students of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology a week to their final examinations. RESULTS: Response was received from 127 (60) of the students; 124 (97.6) agreed that they have been taught DRE. Most of the students; 102 (80.3); have done one to five DRE; three (2.4) and have never performed DRE while none of the students have done more than ten DRE. Only in 49 (38.6) of cases were the findings of the students on DRE always confirmed by a doctor. Nine students (7.1) have never felt a clinical BPH and none had felt it more than five times. Sixtysix (52.0) have never felt a malignant prostate and none of the students have felt it up to three times. Most of the students; 106 (83.5); have never felt a rectal tumour on DRE Only five (3.9) felt very confident of their ability to give an opinion based on their findings on DRE while 105 (82.7) felt reasonably confident CONCLUSIONS: The students have been taught DRE and a good number of them have performed it. Few of the DRE done by the students were cross-checked by a doctor. Most of the students have problems differentiating BPH from cancer of the prostate and many of them were not very confident of their findings on DRE