Study of 5th-Year Medical Student Interest in Medical Ethics and Related Factors / 医学教育

ABSTRACT

To investigate medical student interest in medical ethics and associated factors, a self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 187 5th-year medical students who attended a 2-hour small-group class, “ Introduction to Biomedical Ethics, ” which is held as part of bedside teaching at the University of Tokyo. This study was performed from April 1995 through March 1998. All 187 questionnaires were returned. The degree of student interest in biomedical ethics was significantly associated with student perceptions of the importance of the medical ethics class relative to other classes and with the strength of the connection between medical ethics and 1) clinical practice, 2) law and the courts, e. g., malpractice suits, and 3) health policy. Students who perceived medical ethics as having greater importance or a stronger connection to these issues had more interest. Students were also asked what topics related to medical ethics they were interested in and what type of class was best. Finally, factors that should be taken into account when developing a medical ethics curriculum were discussed.