Iranian Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine

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Medical ethics is a set of moral values that apply principles and responsibilities to the practice of medicine and is a fundamental part of medical education. The current study investigated the effectiveness of the medical ethics curriculum and the best method for its implementation from interns’ point of view. The current cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in July 2012. The research tool was a questionnaire developed in the medical ethics department and handed to all interns. The validity and reliability of the tool was confirmed using content validity and internal consistency (α= 0.72) methods respectively. Data was analyzed using SPSS software and reported by the use of descriptive statistics, particularly mode, as a measure of central tendency.Seventy-one interns (60%) responded to the questionnaire, 54% of whom were female and 55% in the second internship year. In response to the achievement rate of expected outcomes such as the extent to which the educational objectives have been reached, and the suitability of content with the needs felt in real clinical situations, modes were all ranked in the ategory of "low". The modes of the responses to the stressfulness of different ethical situations were mainly ranked in the category of "high". To assess the best methods for teaching knowledge as well as medical ethics skills and attitudes, the following were the mode of interns' responses: group discussion (38%) for teaching the basics, and presentation of a case with the solution (70%) for teaching clinical ethics. The most appropriate methods of student evaluation were considered patient management problem and performance evaluation in the ward by 25 (36%) and 21 (31%) of interns respectively.The current study showed the effectiveness of medical ethics curriculum was low and the students requested presenting this course in a more practical way. It would appear that a two unit theoretic course does not have the efficiency to modify students’ attitudes and behavior to encounter challenging ethical situations, and therefore fundamental changes are suggested.

Keywords: medical ethics, professionalism, medical education

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