Abstract
Introduction: Healthcare ethics is of prime importance and medical students should learn to incorporate it in their everyday practices. Our study aimed to assess and compare the knowledge of medical ethics among students enrolled in a government and a private medical college of Karachi, Pakistan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from November-December 2019 among 380 medical students who were recruited via convenience sampling after getting their informed consent. A pre-tested, self-administered structured questionnaire was used to assess knowledge. Data was analyzed by Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 22. Results: Majority, 323 (85%) regarded medical ethics as important while 138 (36.3%) had acquired their knowledge from different workshops. Almost half, 187 (49.2%) had knowledge regarding Hippocratic Oath. When asked regarding ethical scenarios, 69 (18.2%) students in government medical college were of the opinion that a doctor can refuse to perform abortion even if law allows it as compared to 57 (15.0%) in private medical college (p=0.019). Moreover, 80 (21.1%) students in government medical college strongly disagreed that a patient who wishes to die should be assisted in doing so, as compared to 45 (11.8%) in private medical college (p< 0.001). Conclusion: Students had knowledge and were aware of the importance of ethics in their profession. The ones belonging to government medical college held stronger views regarding ethical scenarios as compared to the ones in private medical college.
Highlights
Healthcare ethics is of prime importance and medical students should learn to incorporate it in their everyday practices
This study aims to assess and compare the knowledge of undergraduate medical students about medical ethics studying in a government and private medical college of Karachi
Our study focused on medical ethics which should be considered an important part of medical curriculum
Summary
Healthcare ethics is of prime importance and medical students should learn to incorporate it in their everyday practices. A study conducted in India showed lack of medical ethics among medical and dental postgraduates (Janakiram and Gardens, 2014). A study conducted in Lahore, Pakistan concluded that there is lack of healthcare ethics and recommended doctors to attain formal education about medical ethics (Humayun et al, 2008). 57% of respondents had lack of knowledge about code of ethics of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (Imran et al, 2014). It has been identified that junior doctors face ethical dilemma in their newly entered professional life due to lack of training in medical colleges and it has been recommended to have knowledge regarding ethics in their medical years (Imran et al, 2015)
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