Teaching ethics in the context of general practice

This paper describes the teaching in medical ethics provided by the Department of General Practice during the fifth year of the undergraduate medical course at the University of Sydney. The objectives of the sessions are to raise awareness of the complex nature of decision-making, to encourage students to determine their own moral viewpoints on common controversial issues, and to provide a framework for managing common ethical dilemmas. This framework is considered in the light of ethical problems which may have arisen during the two-week general practice attachment experienced by students prior to the ethics session. Feedback from students on the sessions is largely positive, although a number complain that simple answers to common problems are not provided.