Abstract
We report the results of a randomized trial to assess the impact of an innovative ethics curriculum on the knowledge and confidence of 85 medical house officers in a university hospital programme, as well as their responses to a simulated clinical case. Twenty-five per cent of the house officers received a lecture series (Limited Intervention or LI), 25 per cent received lectures and case conferences, with an ethicist in attendance (Extensive Intervention or EI), and 50 per cent served as controls. A post-intervention questionnaire was administered. Knowledge scores did not differ among the groups. Confidence regarding ethical issues was significantly greater in the aggregate intervention group (3.9 on a 1 to 5 scale) compared to the control group (3.6). Confidence regarding procedural issues related to ethics was significantly higher for the EI group than for the controls (4.0 v 2.8). Responses to a simulated case showed that significantly fewer house officers in the EI group would intubate a patient for whom such therapy would be futile (EI=57 per cent, LI=87 per cent, Controls=82 per cent). We conclude that ethics education can have an impact on house officers' confidence and their responses to a simulated case, and that the EI was more effective than the LI. Such results have implications regarding the implementation of ethics education during residency.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 157-163 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of medical ethics |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1993 |
Keywords
- Curriculum
- Futility
- Internship and residency
- Medical education
- Medical ethics
- Resuscitation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Issues, ethics and legal aspects
- Health(social science)
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- Health Policy