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Evaluating ethical sensitivity in medical students: using vignettes as an instrument
P Hébert1, E M Meslin, E V Dunn
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario.
Journal of Medical Ethics
|September 1, 1990
Summary
Clinical vignettes show promise for measuring ethical sensitivity in medical students, identifying an average of 2.72 issues per student. Further research is needed to refine this assessment tool for medical education.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Bioethics
Background:
- Assessing ethical sensitivity is crucial for medical students' professional development.
- Clinical vignettes offer a potential tool for evaluating ethical reasoning skills.
Purpose of the Study:
- To preliminarily assess the utility of clinical vignettes in measuring ethical sensitivity among undergraduate medical students.
- To explore how different vignettes and student year levels impact the identification of ethical issues.
Main Methods:
- Five clinical vignettes, each containing 7-9 ethical issues identified by an expert panel, were developed.
- 281 first, second, and third-year medical students at the University of Toronto responded to one randomly selected vignette.
- Student responses were analyzed to identify the number and type of ethical issues detected, classified under autonomy, beneficence, and justice.
Main Results:
- Students identified an average of 2.72 ethical issues per vignette.
- Significant variations were observed in responses across different student year levels and between different vignettes.
- The data suggest that specific vignettes may measure different ethical domains (autonomy, beneficence, justice) distinctively.
Conclusions:
- Clinical vignettes appear to be a viable method for assessing aspects of ethical sensitivity in medical students.
- Additional research is necessary to fully understand and validate what specific ethical constructs these vignettes measure.