Awareness and Perceptions of Medical Students towards Health Care Ethics - A Study from Nepal

Background Medical practitioners are the men of science who treat patients based on their knowledge and skill. Unethical and immoral conduct in the practice of medicine pertains to human right issues and litigation. Objective The present study is conducted to understand the perceptions and awareness of the moral and ethical responsibilities of future medical doctors in Nepalese scenario. Method This cross sectional study was carried out among the undergraduate medical students of Manipal College of Medical Sciences, Pokhara, Nepal who were administered a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire relating to various aspects of health care ethics. A total of 202 students (116 girls and 86 boys) voluntarily participated in the study. Based upon the criteria whether a student had attended forensic medicine lecture the study participants were thus divided into two groups Group I and Group II. The responses of the participants were obtained on a 5 point Likert scale and analyzed. Result The study observed that the overall awareness on issues regarding consent was proportionately higher than for issues dealing with patient's right to treatment. The awareness levels were similar among the students of both groups for most of the issues with exception of a few issues where awareness levels were higher among the Group II students when compared to the Group I students. Conclusion This present study attempts to present the assessment of students on issues relating to ethics and moral reasoning. The present study also emphasizes on the importance of ethics in the practice of medicine.