Teaching respect for body donors: A US medical student perspective.

Recent controversies over the mismanagement of body donors in US medical schools have raised public concerns over the ethical treatment of bodies in "anatomical gift" programs. Despite widespread moral outrage at such cases, medical students may still make seemingly inconsequential mistakes or jokes that in fact constitute acts of disrespect. This may partially be attributed to the process of desensitization in working with human remains, and indicates a further need to inculcate into medical students the ethical responsibilities of working with body donors. Donation agreement statements that lack specific information about the respectful treatment of bodies in the anatomy laboratory may serve as an additional point of concern for potential donors seeking reassurance about the future treatment of their bodies. This viewpoint draws from the anecdotal experiences of medical students to portray two scenarios of medical students' disrespectful conduct toward body donors, and constructs an account of moral respect for human remains based on respect for posthumous autonomy and respect in attitude. It then provides suggestions for US medical schools to incorporate this ethical framework into their anatomy curricula to instill respectful dispositions in its students and facilitate a more robust informed consent process for potential donors who entrust their bodies to medical students.

A construção da Identidade Médica na concepção de médicos recém-graduados / The construction of Medical Identity in the conception of newly graduated physicians

A Identidade Médica (IM) é uma contrução social dinâmica e é influenciada por fatores relacionados ao estudante, ao docente/preceptor e à sociedade, além de moldar a forma como o futuro médico exercerá sua profissão. O objetivo desta tese é analisar a construção da IM e os fatores que a influenciam a partir das percepções de médicos recém-graduados, além de realizar uma revisão da literatura atual, pesquisar os fatores intrínsecos e extrínsecos formadores da IM, a influência dos primeiros anos do exercício profissional e das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais (DCN) no perfil e na consolidação da IM. Estudo observacional de corte transversal de caráter qualitativo realizado com médicos-residentes de um hospital universitário de um grande centro urbano brasileiro. Os dados foram coletados por meio de doze entrevistas virtuais no período de setembro a novembro de 2021 e três grupos focais presenciais, com seis participantes cada, em agosto de 2022. O material produzido foi submetido à análise de conteúdo, seguindo os seguintes passos: leitura e releitura flutuante, busca de semelhanças e divergências, classificação em categorias temáticas, contextualização espaço-social-temporal, discussão com a literatura científica e síntese interpretativa. Além disso, foram pesquisadas as bases de dados PubMed®/MEDLINE, SciELO, LILACS, Cochrane Library e BVS para realização da revisão da literatura. Para a revisão, estruturação da fundamentação teórica e discussão dos dados da pesquisa, foram estudados, na íntegra, os 154 artigos encontrados. Pouco mais da metade (51%) dos artigos trata-se de pesquisas empíricas que possuem como foco um dos três eixos formadores da IM (estudante / docente / sociedade), enquanto 40% são revisões da literatura e 9% são editoriais. A maioria das pesquisas (73%) foi desenvolvida no eixo América do Norte / Europa. Apesar disso, o Brasil configura-se como o 5º país em número de publicações. O material produzido no campo revelou que as expectativas dos estudantes com relação ao médico que imaginam se tornar, a influência de docentes e preceptores e o perfil de médico exigido pela sociedade moldam a IM dos participantes. Os primeiros anos da carreira profissional constituem um período de turbulência e de conflitos identitários que são suavizados durante a Residência Médica, quando esta se configura como um ambiente de prática e de ensino-aprendizagem salutar. Os médicos-residentes desconhecem as DCN e isso impacta negativamente na forma que vivenciam as expectativas da sociedade traduzidas pelas Diretrizes. Na percepção dos médicos recém-graduados, há uma incongruência entre o que é preconizado nas DCN, a formação que é efetivamente oferecida nos cursos de medicina e o mercado de trabalho que eles encontram após estarem habilitados a exercer a profissão. Essa incongruência gera uma IM pouco saudável que é prejudicial ao exercício qualificado da profissão e gera sofrimento e insatisfação nos novos médicos. Os resultados desse estudo podem contribuir com o trabalho daqueles envolvidos no processo de formação identitária dos médicos, auxiliando-os a empreender ações que favoreçam a formação de uma IM mais saudável em benefício dos atuais e futuros médicos e da população por eles assistida.(AU)

The Medical Identity (MI) is a dynamic social construction and is influenced by factors related to the student, the professor/preceptor and society, in addition to shaping the way the future physician will exercise his profession. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the construction of MI and the factors that influence it based on the perceptions of newly graduated physicians, in addition to carrying out a review of the current literature, researching the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that form MI, the influence of the first years of professional practice and the National Curriculum Guidelines (NCG) for Brazilian Medicine courses in the profile and consolidation of MI. A qualitative, cross-sectional observational study carried out with resident physicians at a university hospital in a large Brazilian urban center. Data were collected through twelve virtual interviews from September to November 2021 and three face-to-face focus groups, with six participants each, in August 2022. The material produced was subjected to content analysis, following the steps below: reading and fluctuating rereading, search for similarities and divergences, classification into thematic categories, spatio-social-temporal contextualization, discussion with the scientific literature and interpretative synthesis. In addition, the PubMed®/MEDLINE, SciELO, LILACS, Cochrane Library and BVS databases were searched to carry out the literature review. For the review, structuring of the theoretical foundation and discussion of the research data, the 154 articles found were studied in full. A little more than half (51%) of the articles are empirical research that focus on one of the three axes that form MI (student / teacher / society), while 40% are literature reviews and 9% are editorials. Most of the surveys (73%) were developed in the North America / Europe axis. Despite this, Brazil ranks 5th in number of publications. The material produced in the field revealed that the students' expectations regarding the doctor they imagine becoming, the influence of professors and preceptors and the profile of a doctor required by society shape the participants' MI. The first years of the professional career constitute a period of turbulence and identity conflicts that are softened during the Medical Residency Program, when it is configured as an environment of practice and healthy teaching-learning. Medical residents are unaware of the NCG and this negatively impacts the way they experience society's expectations translated by the Guidelines. In the perception of newly graduated physicians, there is an inconsistency between what is recommended in the NCG, the training that is effectively offered in medical courses and the job market that they find after being qualified to practice the profession. This incongruity generates an unhealthy MI that is harmful to the qualified exercise of the profession and generates suffering and dissatisfaction in new physicians. The results of this study can contribute to the work of those involved in the physicians' identity formation process, helping them to undertake actions that favor the formation of a healthier MI for the benefit of current and future physicians and the population they assist.(AU)

Virtual thanks giving to a cadaver by medical students exposed to learning anatomy before and amidst COVID-19 pandemic.

PURPOSE: Due to COVID-19 pandemic, Thanks giving ceremony to cadaver was different this year in two ways: the students were partially exposed to cadaveric dissections (for 7 months) and later learned Anatomy via online classes due to lockdown (for 5 months) and secondly it was not feasible to gather for the ceremony so virtual platform was preferred. The purpose of this study was to discern the gratitude for cadaver and to recognize the importance of cadaveric dissection from the reflection of students who experienced hybrid anatomy learning amidst COVID-19. METHODS: The study was conducted on 48 first year medical students who were admitted to the college in August 2019 and were willing to participate. An online invitation was sent to students to participate in virtual thanks giving to cadaver ceremony on the last day of their anatomy class (August 2020). RESULTS: Though the students partially studied gross anatomy with the aid of dissections on the cadaver; however, they expressed respect and gratitude to the silent mentor in the form of a card, poem, drawing or paragraph and shared it via google classroom platform. The students wished if they could continue their anatomy course in dissection hall as paused due to COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Reflection of these students may mark impact on future anatomy students who may or may not get the chance for dissections. The thanks-giving gesture will also help to bind medical science and humanity especially during the crisis of pandemic.

COVID 19: A Cause for Pause in Undergraduate Medical Education and Catalyst for Innovation.

As the world held its breath for news surrounding COVID-19 and hunkered down amidst stay-at-home orders, medical students across the U.S. wondered if they would be called to serve on the front lines of the pandemic. Medical school administrators faced the challenge of protecting learners while also minimizing harm to their medical education. This balancing act raised critical questions in medical education as institutions reacted to changing guidelines. COVID-19 has punctuated already contentious areas of medical education and has forced institutions and organizations to take quick action. From the perspectives of a recent medical school graduate and current resident (ES) and a practicing clinician-educator (SHG), we examine the pandemic's impact on undergraduate medical education through an ethical lens. First, we explore the value of medical education, what drives this value, and how COVID-19 may alter it. We next consider student choice and how shifts toward utilitarianism in healthcare during a pandemic may affect learning and career exploration. Then, we inquire how access to technology may impact the experience of medical students from diverse backgrounds and varied institutions during a rapid shift to socially distanced learning. We identify vulnerabilities for students at several phases of the journey: premedical, preclinical, clinical, and preparation for residency. Finally, we address the hidden curriculum of COVID-19, its potential erosion of empathy among current medical students, and possible long-term consequences for future physicians and patients.

Medical students' reflections on surgical educators' professionalism: Contextual nuances in the hidden curriculum.

INTRODUCTION: Surgical educators' professional behavior constitutes a hidden curriculum and impacts trainee's professional identity formation. This study explores the nuances of professional behaviors as observed in varying surgical settings. METHODS: 411 Transcripts originated from essays written by MS3 students during their surgical clerkship from 2010 to 2016 were collated. Employing a qualitative research methodology, we conducted a thematic analysis to uncover specific meaning emerging from medical student reflections' on surgical professionalism. RESULTS: In clinics, taking time and protecting patient privacy; in the OR, control over emotion during difficult situations and attention to learners; and in the inpatient setting, showing accountability above normal expected behavior were noted as professional. Similarly, unprofessional behaviors in these contexts paralleled lack of these attributes. CONCLUSIONS: Behaviors observed and the attributes of professionalism in the surgical learning environment have contextual nuances. These variations in professionalism can be utilized in deliberate development of professionalism in surgery.

Professional decision-making in medicine: Development of a new measure and preliminary evidence of validity.

INTRODUCTION: This study developed a new Professional Decision-Making in Medicine Measure that assesses the use of effective decision-making strategies: seek help, manage emotions, recognize consequences and rules, and test assumptions and motives. The aim was to develop a content valid measure and obtain initial evidence for construct validity so that the measure could be used in future research or educational assessment. METHODS: Clinical scenario-based items were developed based on a review of the literature and interviews with physicians. For each item, respondents are tasked with selecting two responses (out of six plausible options) that they would choose in that situation. Three of the six options reflect a decision-making strategy; these responses are scored as correct. Data were collected from a sample of 318 fourth-year medical students in the United States. They completed a 16-item version of the measure (Form A) and measures of social desirability, moral disengagement, and professionalism attitudes. Professionalism ratings from clerkships were also obtained. A sub-group (n = 63) completed a second 16-item measure (Form B) to pilot test the instrument, as two test forms are useful for pre-posttest designs. RESULTS: Scores on the new measure indicated that, on average, participants answered 75% of items correctly. Evidence for construct validity included the lack of correlation between scores on the measure and socially desirable responding, negative correlation with moral disengagement, and modest to low correlations with professionalism attitudes. A positive correlation was observed with a clerkship rating focused on professionalism in peer interactions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate modest proficiency in the use of decision-making strategies among fourth-year medical students. Additional research using the Professional Decision-Making Measure should explore scores among physicians in various career stages, and the causes and correlates of scores. Educators could utilize the measure to assess courses that teach decision-making strategies.

Rethinking Goals: Transforming Short-Term Global Health Experiences Into Engagements.

The authors challenge the conventional wisdom guiding what participants in short-term experiences in global health (STEGHs) should be learning. Medical students and residents from the United States have been told to focus on standardized competencies and ethical principles, in addition to the biomedical knowledge, skills, and attitudes highlighted by working internationally. The authors suggest that although these training goals are important, they may divert learners from developing their professional identities in ways that contribute to the health of all persons, especially those who are economically poor and socially marginalized. The authors postulate that such a professional transformation will occur only if STEGH participants attend to 5 key learning goals: develop contextual inquisitiveness, grow in insightful understanding, nurture global humility, cultivate structural awareness, and critically engage in the pursuit of creating equitable and just societies. Further, the authors argue that only by attending to these goals will any genuine change in the root causes of inequities in health outcomes occur. The authors review these goals and encourage their use for professional and pedagogical purposes over the duration of any STEGH-before departure, while in host communities, and upon return home.

The disappearing act: Humanities in the medical curriculum in India.

The field of Medical Humanities, shaped by a belief in the vitality of interdisciplinary and non-hierarchical conversations across disciplines, would only be sustainable if both components of the field - 'medical' and 'humanities' were given equal validity and weightage. The challenge for any exploration of Medical Humanities within the medical curriculum would be to take seriously the methodology and scholarship of the Humanities and its millennia-rich study of health, illness, mortality and human wellbeing. While Humanities has to work within the parameters of medical education, there needs to be more clarity on how to locate and explore subjects from the Humanities in this educational process. The Medical Council of India has made various forays in engaging with the issue. While the previous regulations (1997, last updated in 2017) were non-committal and insufficiently specific, the new guidelines of 2018 do not contain a single inclusion of the word 'Humanities'. Further, the only overture to all the non-medical components have been ossified under the umbrella of AETCOM (Attitude, Ethics and Communication) with prefabricated topics. Both curricular formulations are deeply inadequate: the earlier formulation was lost in vagueness, and the new is instrumental. This revised emphasis on capsules of information, rather than the epistemological approaches that have informed the interplay of Medicine and Humanities means the disappearing act of any possibility of a genuine engagement with the ethos of Medical Humanities. This article attempts to address this invisibility of the Humanities in contemporary formulations of medical syllabi and pedagogy in India.

Ethical Issues Encountered During the Medical Student Surgical Clerkship.

BACKGROUND: Data regarding ethical issues encountered by medical students during the surgical clerkship are sparse. Identification of such issues facilitates development of an ethics curriculum that ensures student preparation for issues most frequently encountered on the surgical rotation. To better understand these issues, we performed content analysis of reflections written by medical students about ethical issues encountered during their surgical clerkship. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All medical students on the surgical clerkship at a university hospital from 4/2017 to 6/2018 submitted a written reflection regarding an ethical issue encountered during the clerkship. Two investigators performed content analysis of each reflection. References to ethical principles (beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice, autonomy) were tabulated. Ethical issues were classified into main categories and subcategories, based on a modified version of a previously published taxonomy. RESULTS: 134 reflections underwent content analysis. Nonmaleficence was the most frequently mentioned ethical principle. 411 specific ethical issues were identified. Ethical issues were distributed across ten main categories: decision-making (28%), communication among health care team members (14%), justice (12%), communication between providers, patients, and families (9%), issues in the operating room (9%), informed consent (9%), professionalism (5%), supervision/student-specific issues (5%), documentation (1%), and miscellaneous/other (8%). We identified two ethical issues infrequently discussed in previous reports: delivery of efficient yet high-quality care and poor communication between services/consultants. CONCLUSIONS: Students encounter diverse ethical issues during their surgical clerkships. Ethical and contextual considerations related to these issues should be incorporated into a preclinical/clinical surgical ethics curriculum to prepare students to understand and engage the challenges they face during the clerkship.

Using a virtue ethics lens to develop a socially accountable community placement programme for medical students.

BACKGROUND: Community-based education (CBE) involves educating the head (cognitive), heart (affective), and the hand (practical) by utilizing tools that enable us to broaden and interrogate our value systems. This article reports on the use of virtue ethics (VE) theory for understanding the principles that create, maintain and sustain a socially accountable community placement programme for undergraduate medical students. Our research questions driving this secondary analysis were; what are the goods which are internal to the successful practice of CBE in medicine, and what are the virtues that are likely to promote and sustain them? METHODS: We conducted a secondary theoretically informed thematic analysis of the primary data based on MacIntyre's virtue ethics theory as the conceptual framework. RESULTS: Virtue ethics is an ethical approach that emphasizes the role of character and virtue in shaping moral behavior; when individuals engage in practices (such as CBE), goods internal to those practices (such as a collaborative attitude) strengthen the practices themselves, but also augment those individuals' virtues, and that of their community (such as empathy). We identified several goods that are internal to the practice of CBE and accompanying virtues as important for the development, implementation and sustainability of a socially accountable community placement programme. A service-oriented mind-set, a deep understanding of community needs, a transformed mind, and a collaborative approach emerged as goods internal to the practice of a socially accountable CBE. The virtues needed to sustain the identified internal goods included empathy and compassion, connectedness, accountability, engagement [sustained relationship], cooperation, perseverance, and willingness to be an agent of change. CONCLUSION: This study found that MacIntyre's virtue ethics theory provided a useful theoretical lens for understanding the principles that create, maintain and sustain CBE practice.

Unethical behavior and professionalism among medical students in a private medical university in Malaysia.

BACKGROUND: Ethical behavior and professionalism is an ideal characteristic required of medical students and included as 'must achieve' and critical aspect of medical students' curriculum. This study proposes to determine the perceived unethical and unprofessional behavior among medical students in a private medical university from year 1 to year 5 of the medical curriculum. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among year 1 to year 5 medical students in a private medical university. A self-administered questionnaire was used with the 3 major domains of professionalism and ethics i.e. discipline plagiarism and cheating. RESULTS: A total of 464 respondents responded to the survey and they included medical students from year 1 and year 2 (pre-clinical) and years 3-5 (clinical years). Majority of the students, 275 (59.2%) answered that they had not seen any form of unethical behavior among other students. The females seem to have a larger number 172(63%) among the same gender compared to the males. Majority 352 (75%) of them had not heard of the 'Code of Professional Conduct by the Malaysian Medical Council'. About fifty three (53.1%) of the students answered that the training was sufficient. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the perception of unethical behavior was 58.8% in the 1st year (pre-clinical) and it increased to 65.2% in the 5th year (clinical). The 3 main discipline issues were students do not show interest in class (mean 2.9/4), they are rude to other students (mean 2.8/4) and talking during class (mean 2.6/4). Despite the existence of unethical behavior among the students majority of them (71.7%) claimed that they had adequate training in ethics and professionalism. It is proposed that not only the teaching of ethics and professionalism be reviewed but an assessment strategy be introduced to strengthen the importance of professionalism and ethics.

Transformation and Closure for Anatomical Donor Families that Meet Medical Students.

The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine has conducted an annual Anatomical Donor Luncheon where families of the anatomical donors met anatomy dissection groups of medical students. The luncheon presented an opportunity for donor family members to share the life story of their loved one with the medical students prior to the start of the anatomy course. This study was designed to understand the impact of the Anatomical Donor Luncheon on families of the donors. Seven families in two different focus groups were included to explore the reactions and attitudes of the donor families to meeting the medical students. Conversations were digitally recorded and transcribed. Qualitative analysis of textual data were coded by three investigators using the Constant Comparative Method. To provide evidence of validity, a form of member checking was utilized. For further triangulation, an analyst not involved in conducting the focus groups or analyzing the data, re-coded all data. This analyst used categories and themes identified by the original analysts, ensuring validity of the themes and any negative cases (data not supporting or contradictory of the established categories and themes). One meta-theme and three sub-themes were identified. The meta-theme was Donor Family Participants Experience Transformation and Closure, and sub-themes were Motivators for Participation, Optimal Venue Factors, and Optimal Medical Student-Anatomical Donor Family Interactions. Study findings indicated the Anatomical Donor Luncheon facilitated closure on the death of their loved one, and transformed their apprehension about the luncheon and body donation into an attitude of gratitude and appreciation.

Missed opportunities in the way medical schools evaluate the ethical domain in clerkship rotations.

BACKGROUND: Several lines of evidence indicate that medical schools have been failing to adequately nurture empathy and the ethical dimension in their graduates, the lack of which may play a central role in the genesis of medical errors, itself a major source of avoidable deaths, incapacity and wasted resources. It has been widely proposed that medical schools should adopt evaluation strategies as a means to promote a culture of respectful relationships. However, it is not clear if evaluation strategies in medical schools have addressed key domains related to that aim, such as ethics, through the perspective of their students. Hence, we conducted a national survey of instruments used by Brazilian medical schools to assess clerkship rotations from the perspective of students, with a main focus on the ethical domain. METHODS: The authors invited 121 randomly selected institutions to participate in the study. Key informants answered a questionnaire about clerkship rotations and sent copies of any instrument used to assess the quality of clerkship rotations according to the students' perspectives. RESULTS: Twenty-six (53%) of 49 participating schools used an instrument to assess the quality of clerkship rotations according to the perspective of students. Just 13 (27%) schools had instruments containing at least one question encompassing the ethical domain. Only 2 (4%) schools asked students specifically about the occurrence of any negative experience concerning the ethical domain during rotations. Merely 1 (2%) school asked students about having witnessed patient mistreatment and none asked about mistreatment against students themselves. CONCLUSIONS: There are several missed opportunities in the way medical schools assess the quality of clerkship rotations regarding the ethical domain. Closing the gap between usual institutional discourses regarding ethics and how that dimension is assessed within clerkship rotations might represent an important step towards the improvement of medical education and healthcare systems.

El pase de visita docente como herramienta didáctica en el proceso de formación de los médicos de pregrado / The teacher visits pass as a tool in the training process for undergraduate doctors

El pase de visita docente constituye la herramienta más cercana a la realidad que tiene los estudiantes de medicina para integrar los conocimientos adquiridos en el aula frente a la situación real de un paciente hospitalizado o en otros servicios hospitalarios. Resulta el espacio más importante de la formación médica de pregrado en el área clínica y es considerado el espacio vital para la consolidación de conocimientos y la adquisición de la experticia en el reconocimiento de signos y síntomas, su interpretación clínica y la elaboración de un diagnóstico con la consecuente administración de un posible tratamiento médico(AU)

The teacher visit pass is the tool closest to the reality that medical students have to integrate the knowledge acquired in the classroom in front of the real situation of a hospitalized patient or in other hospital services. It is the most important space of undergraduate medical training in the clinical area and is considered the vital space for the consolidation of knowledge and the acquisition of expertise in the recognition of signs and symptoms, its clinical interpretation and the elaboration of a diagnosis with the consequent administration of a possible medical treatment(AU)

How does Donor Dissection Influence Medical Students' Perceptions of Ethics? A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Qualitative Study.

The contribution of donor dissection to modern anatomy pedagogy remains debated. While short-term anatomy knowledge gains from dissection are questionable, studies suggest that donor dissection may have other impacts on students including influencing medical students' professional development, though evidence for such is limited. To improve the understanding of how anatomy education influences medical student professional development, the cross-sectional and longitudinal impacts of donor dissection on medical students' perceptions of ethics were explored. A cross-sectional and longitudinal qualitative study was undertaken at an Australian university where student responses to online discussion forums and in-person interviews were analyzed. Data were collected across the 1.5 years that undergraduate medical students received anatomy instruction (three semesters during first and second years). A total of 207 students participated in the online discussion forums, yielding 51,024 words; 24 students participated in at least 1 of 11 interviews, yielding over 11 hours of interview data. Framework analysis identified five themes related to ethics in an anatomical education context: (1) Dignity, (2) Beneficence, (3) Consent, (4) Justification for versus the necessity of dissection, and (5) Dichotomy of objectification and personification. The dominant themes of students' ethical perceptions changed with time, with a shift from focusing on donors as people, toward the utility of donors in anatomy education. Additionally, themes varied by student demographics including gender, ancestry, and religiosity. Together this study suggests a strong impact of donor dissection on priming students' focus on medical ethics and provides further advocacy for formal and purposeful integration of medical ethics with anatomy education.