Tracking changes in medical students' perceptions of academic ethics: a longitudinal study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Academic Ethics
• Professionalism in Medicine

Background:

• Professionalism is a core competency for medical students.
• Academic ethics perceptions reflect professionalism development.
• Understanding the evolution of these perceptions is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how medical students' perceptions of academic ethics evolve over time.
• To investigate differences in these perceptions based on sex.
• To assess both self-perception and peer perception of academic ethics.

Main Methods:

• Survey administered to 87 medical students in South Korea (2020 & 2023).
• Questions focused on self and peer perceptions of academic ethics.
• Paired t-tests used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Both sexes reported improved academic ethics over time.
• Females reported higher academic ethics and greater change than males.
• Females perceived peer ethics improving, while males perceived a decline.
• Upper-year students viewed peer ethics more favorably than lower-year students.

Conclusions:

• Significant sex-based differences exist in the evolution of academic ethics perceptions.
• Sex-specific ethics education may be beneficial for medical students.
• Continuous ethics education throughout medical school is important.
• Findings inform curriculum development to enhance ethical awareness.