Teaching clinical ethics to intern doctors by integrated seminar and online discussions

Abstract

Objectives: We report our experience of an educational project conducted with the objectives of inculcating the knowledge and encouraging the application of the principles of clinical ethics among intern doctors. Materials and Methods: An interdepartmental, integrated, interactive seminar was conducted by the departments of psychiatry, pharmacology, surgery, and medicine for various aspects of clinical ethics. A pre-post 20-item test of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) was conducted with the seminar. It was followed by 45 days of online discussion on clinical ethics among the participants of the seminar. Content analysis of the online discussion was done. Feedback was taken after the seminar and online discussion. Results: Fifty intern doctors participated in the seminar and 34 in the online discussion. The MCQs’ score significantly increased from 10.7 to 16.8 out of 20. There were 35 posts and 66 comments about clinical ethics made on the online forum. The feedback revealed that the interns wanted more departments to be involved in the seminar and practical knowledge was gained from the online discussion. It also suggested that this combination of seminar followed by online discussion encouraged them to apply the principles in their clinical rotations. Conclusion: Integrated teaching and online discussion were effective in sensitizing the intern doctors, enhancing their knowledge, and encouraging the application of the principles of clinical ethics.