title: Student identification of ethical issues in a primary care setting.
abstract: Ethical issues in the clinical arena have received significant attention during the past few decades. Limited focus has been directed toward ethical issues in the primary care office setting. A study was conducted to determine the ethical perspectives through critical review discussions between medical students and their preceptors during the PCP programme. Major ethical themes and percent of occurrence emerging from an analysis of the summaries of their discussions included decision-making (40%), professional standards (16%), locus of care (12%), community responsibility (10%), and confidentiality (10%). This study adds to the evidence that while the ethical issues prevalent in the primary care setting are less dramatic than those in a hospital, they are sufficiently frequent to warrant inclusion in the curriculum, enabling students to become more sensitive to their existence.
authors.affiliation: Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine (NEOUCOM), Department of Human Values in Medicine, Rootstown 44272-0095, USA.
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Homenko
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kohn
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rickel
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality; D003657:Decision Making; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007348:Insurance, Health; D009014:Morals; D009820:Ohio; D010465:Perception; D010815:Physician Impairment; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D013850:Thinking