Abstract
The study of Medical Ethics [ME] is mandatory for health practitioners because there is hardly an area in medicine that doesn't pose an ethical dilemma. There is lack of awareness among physicians. Training of medical students should equip them to provide the best care to patients in an ethical manner without harm. The aim of this paper was to assess the awareness of undergraduate students to ME and take inputs about curricular changes as they are important stake holders. A prospective, cross sectional, observational study through a confidential questionnaire was utilized. 86 proformas were fit for analysis. Majority [68.6%] failed to define ME. Most had been exposed to ME in the college or through the print or visual media. Majority could not recall any incident of professional misconduct witnessed by them, while others recounted incidents such as taking gifts from pharmaceutical companies, rudeness to poor patients, mis-diagnosis due to casual approach towards patients, becoming personal with female patients, organ trafficking, conducting sex determination tests etc. Most were unaware about the existence or purpose of an institutional ethics committee. Regarding the need for studying ME 86.04% said they thought it is important. Majority suggested be interactive case presentations as a method of teaching ME. There is gross unawareness among medical students about the definition, scope and purpose of teaching ME. A drastic change in the medical curriculum is required and new and interesting teaching learning methods need to be evolved in order to train our students in ME.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.