title: A randomized trial of ethics education for medical house officers.
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.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Sulmasy
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Geller
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Faden
mesh_terms: D015142:Baltimore; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D003479:Curriculum; D003657:Decision Making; D026822:Ethicists; D004992:Ethics, Medical / Q000193:education*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007396:Internship and Residency; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011897:Random Allocation; D012577:Schools, Medical; D028761:Withholding Treatment