Does Teaching Clinical Ethics to Medical Students Improve Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Medical Ethics Among Clinicians? An Observational Study in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Nepal.

Background: The importance of doctors being aware of medical ethics has been highlighted in a number of studies. Our first study (Study-1) aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of medical ethics among clinicians at Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS). We then follow up with the effect of teaching clinical ethics to medical students (Study-2). The purpose of this study is to assess the awareness regarding appropriate ethical principles, application of medical ethics and the effect of teaching medical ethics to students. Methods: There are two studies presented: Study-1 is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. A total of 72 participants, selected by simple random sampling, included doctors working as interns, medical officers and consultants in six departments of PAHS. Study-2 was a follow-up, cross-sectional online questionnaire-based comparative study conducted at PAHS to compare KAP of medical ethics among medical officers with and without formal medical ethics training. We used the validated questionnaire from our previous study. All graduates of PAHS 2016 and all medical officers employed at PAHS at the time of study who had graduated from other medical schools that did not include Medical Ethics in their core curriculum were included. Results: Study-1: A positive correlation between Knowledge(p = 0.088), Attitude (p = 0.002), Practice of medical ethics(p = 0.000), and years of practice was found. No significant difference in KAP of medical ethics between MBBS graduates from Nepal and abroad (p = 0.190) was found. The majority scored poorly in issues concerning autonomy. The follow-up study found a statistically significant difference (p = 0.000) in the knowledge between the doctors who were taught medical ethics and those who were not. Conclusions: Doctors find it easier to discuss ethical dilemmas with their colleagues rather than department heads. The KAP of the consultants were found to be better than that of the interns and medical officers. Autonomy is the least understood ethical principle. ‘Medical Ethics’ as a part of the core curriculum in medical schools would improve ethical practice.