1. Educational intervention is effective in improving knowledge and confidence in surgical ethics-a prospective study.
- Author
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Thirunavukarasu P, Brewster LP, Pecora SM, and Hall DE
- Subjects
- Adult, Humans, Middle Aged, Pennsylvania, Prospective Studies, Surveys and Questionnaires, Young Adult, Attitude of Health Personnel, Ethics, Medical education, General Surgery education, Internship and Residency ethics, Professional Competence standards
- Abstract
Background: Professionalism and ethics are Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies, but there is little evidence regarding the effectiveness of ethics education., Methods: General surgery residents at the University of Pittsburgh completed questionnaires measuring attitudes and knowledge about surgical ethics before and after four 60-minute, faculty-facilitated seminars implementing the American College of Surgeons ethics curriculum., Results: Most residents experienced ethical challenges at least once every rotation: competition of interests (75%), professional obligations (75%), confidentiality (83%), truth telling (88%), surrogate decision making (91%), and end-of-life issues (100%). The educational intervention increased both knowledge about surgical ethics (P = .013) and confidence in dealing with competition of interests (P = .001), professional obligations (P = .011), truth telling (P = .013), confidentiality (P = .011), end-of-life issues (P = .007), and surrogate decision making (P = .052). Most residents recommended the American College of Surgeons text for future use (84%), considering ethics education a "standard" part of residency training (70%)., Conclusions: Focused instruction using the American College of Surgeons ethics curriculum can effectively improve both knowledge and confidence about surgical ethics., (Published by Elsevier Inc.)
- Published
- 2010
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