Ludimila de Oliveira Cardoso’s research while affiliated with Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora and other places

OBJECTIVES: The objective was to identify the attitudes of medical students at UFJF/MG in 2007 concerning occupational risk (OR), universal precautions (UP), and personal protective equipment (PPE), as well as the criteria for their use. METHODS: The method was based on stratified random sampling with replacement, and 180 of 204 selected students from the 5th to 10th semesters of undergraduate medical school responded. RESULTS: More than half of the respondents reported being involved in procedures with OR during their undergraduate training, and 55.2% stated that they were unfamiliar with UP. Students had acquired knowledge about PPE through classes (53.8%), by practice and observation (37.2%), and through orientation from professors (28.8%). 79.4% of students considered themselves exposed to HIV/HBV. 10% reported having already suffered an accident involving biological risk during their undergraduate training. 13.8% were not vaccinated against hepatitis B. CONCLUSIONS: A large proportion of these medical students showed gaps in knowledge on UP. Despite relatively high HBV immunization coverage, the students did not submit to routine serological testing. Early practical training activities appeared to have a positive impact on acquisition of knowledge concerning UP.