Ethics in optometry: an educational intervention

As registered health professionals, optometrists have a responsibility to apply ethical reasoning skills to ensure the best outcomes for their patients.

The ability to apply ethical knowledge in practical situations has emerged as a crucial skillset for health professionals. This research aimed to highlight the potential benefits and challenges associated with employing case-based scenario workshops as a method for teaching the application of ethical knowledge.

An intervention study was conducted at an Australian university to establish whether a case-based ethics workshop could improve the confidence of optometry students in navigating ethical dilemmas. Prior to completing the workshop, optometry students were invited to complete a survey, and the survey was repeated at the end of each workshop.

Fifty nine students completed the pre-workshop survey, and 49 students completed the post-workshop survey. A Mann-Whitney U test showed no significant difference in the baseline confidence levels of students who had prior or no prior experience in tertiary education, healthcare work or eyecare work. There was a statistically significant improvement in confidence navigating ethical dilemmas (Z = -2.541, p = 0.011) from 53% very or moderately confident pre-workshop to 82% post-workshop.

These results suggest that case-based ethics workshops are an effective educational tool that should be considered for incorporation into optometry and other health profession courses.