Changes in medical student attitudes as they progress through a medical course.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the way ethical principles develop during a medical education course for three groups of medical students--in their first year, at the beginning of their penultimate (fifth) year and towards the end of their final (sixth) year.


METHODS
Survey questionnaire administered to medical students in their first, fifth and final (sixth) year.


METHODS
A large medical school in Queensland, Australia.


METHODS
Approximately half the students in each of three years (first, fifth and sixth) provided data on a voluntary basis, a total of 385 students.


RESULTS
At the point of entry, minor differences were found between medical students and first year law and psychology students. More striking were differences between male and female medical students, suggesting early socialization had a substantial impact here.


CONCLUSIONS
Results indicate that substantial changes in attitude have developed by the beginning of fifth year with little change thereafter. Gender difference persisted. Some difference in ethical attitudes were found when groups of different ethnic backgrounds were compared. The impact of a move to a graduate medical course, which gives high priority to ethics within a professional development domain, can now be evaluated.
Price
J
J
Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland.
Price
D
D
Williams
G
G
Hoffenberg
R
R
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D026686:Beneficence; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008297:Male; D035863:Moral Development; D028681:Moral Obligations; D028701:Patient Rights; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D028743:Professional Misconduct; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012577:Schools, Medical; D012737:Sex Factors; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D026712:Value of Life