A medical ethics project for third-year medical students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Bioethics
• Clinical Case Studies

Background:

• Third-year medical students at Medical College of Virginia were tasked with creating case studies.
• These case studies were designed to explore ethical issues encountered in clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the quality of student-generated ethical case studies.
• To identify common ethical issues and attitudes expressed within these studies.
• To describe the implementation of faculty-led discussion groups using these case studies.

Main Methods:

• Students prepared case studies based on clinical experiences, incorporating ethical principles.
• A qualitative analysis was conducted on the case studies to evaluate their quality.
• The types of ethical issues and expressed attitudes were cataloged.
• Faculty-led discussion groups were formed to further explore the case studies.

Main Results:

• The study examined the quality and content of student-developed clinical ethical case studies.
• Analysis focused on the ethical principles, patient information, family dynamics, and caregiver roles presented.
• Faculty-led discussions aimed to deepen understanding and explore diverse perspectives on medical ethics.

Conclusions:

• The case study approach provided a valuable tool for medical students to engage with complex ethical issues.
• Faculty-led discussions facilitated a deeper exploration of ethical dilemmas in clinical settings.
• This method enhanced the learning experience for third-year medical students in bioethics.