The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of medical (MS) and nursing (NS) students about prevention of the HCAIs and to detect differences between these two groups. It was the pilot study of a national investigation and was performed administering a questionnaire including 6 multiple choice questions concerning 3 areas: standard precautions (SP), hand hygiene (HH) and nosocomial infections (NI). One hundred and seventeen students, 89 MS and 28 NS, were included in the study. Mean overall score (+/- SD) was 17.63 (+/- 3.8), on an overall perfect score achievable of 25. Mean score obtained by NS (18.5 +/- 3.3) was better than the one achieved by MS (17.4 +/- 3.9), even if the difference wasn't statistically significant. Stratifying the score in the three specific areas, healthcare students obtained weighed scores (+/- SD) of 6.74 (+/- 1.61) for SP, 4.7 (+/- 1.5) for HH and 4.51 (+/- 1.71) for NI. Knowledge level concerning HH area was different between medical students and nursing students (p = 0.013), in favour of the latter. According to correct answers rate, healthcare students properly know how and what kind of personal medical devices are to be used, while they show a lack of knowledge about hand hygiene. This pilot-study underlines the importance of the assessment of teaching effectiveness, and it stresses the need to critically review some specific contents of healthcare university courses
