PURPOSE
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a medical ethics course taught in medical school by examining the students' abilities to identify medical ethics issues, the applicability of a medical ethics course, and self-efficacy. METHODS: 366 subjects were recruited from three different groups (medical students, interns, and residents) who had completed a medical ethics course. Data were collected using a 20-item questionnaire.
Analysis was done with a SPSS statistics program. RESULTS: Of the three groups, the students scored the highest in identifying medical ethics issues. When asked how often they see medical ethics issues in real medical situations (students were asked how often they would expect to see these ethical issues in medical settings), the students responded with the highest number, followed by the interns.
The residents responded with the lowest number. Regarding the applicability of the medical ethics course, while students believed the course was highly useful and applicable to real medical settings, interns and residents did not agree. The participants' self-efficacy and satisfaction were generally low. The majority of all three groups thought that medical ethics education should be more practical and that it should be taught during internship as well as during residency. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest two important directions for medical ethics education.
First, the current medical ethics curriculum should be offered during both internship and residency. Second, the content should focus more on actual clinical scenarios ('clinical ethics') than theoretical principles.
