Knowledge and practices of bioethics - Need for periodic assessment and reinstatement for budding family physicians

The study has been designed to assess the knowledge of ethics amongst young students and professionals, and practices of health care ethics among medical professionals in a government teaching hospital in India.

A cross-sectional study was carried out at one of the teaching hospitals in Southern India with a sample size of 84 among fresh medical graduates, post-graduate trainees, and young consultants with work experience of 6 months to 8 years. The data were collected by means of a structured and validated questionnaire, and the questionnaire was administered before and after a lecture/seminar on ethical principles, and results were analyzed using SPSS software.

The maximum participants were in the age group of 20 to 24 years with 0-2 years of clinical experience. The basic awareness and practices before the workshop were quite less when compared to after the workshop which showed a very good improvement in the correct responses to the questions. The maximum change seen, reflected in curiosity to learn bioethics. The workshop was an eye-opener for many participants in terms of the Nuremberg Code and its origin. The ethics committee was an alien concept to many participants, and it was reflected in the response postworkshop. The students felt a strong need to discuss ethics and implement them postworkshop. The segment on attitudes in clinical practice showed an impact on autonomy and truth-telling (32% to 50%). The segment on ethical practices reflected a confused audience. The increase in sensitivity to police information, and the concept of error of judgment and negligence were positive. The fact that medical practitioners are legally bound to help accident victims showed a positive response.

Based on the assessment of pre-and post-workshop, there is a strong need to stress the ethical principles and revision of these ideas from time to time. Workshops and interactive sessions are a good way for periodic assessment and reinstatement of these values in our research and clinical practice. Thus, these should be part of the curriculum across all educational institutions for budding primary care providers and family physicians.