| The process of becoming a medical doctor consists of many complex and multi-dimensional components. Among these, the challenge to each person's moral orientation brought by the life-and-death nature of the physician's work provides great potential for individual growth. While the didactic nature of the basic science curriculum may not test the personal ethic of many students, the situational experiences of the clinical rotations required before receiving the M.D. degree hold much more promise for ethical confrontations unlike many others.;There currently exists in the academy great concern about patient safety, quality healthcare, and healthcare effectiveness. Some have argued that rising healthcare costs, including malpractice insurance fees, as well as inadequate numbers of caregivers has resulted in an increased incidence of accidental injury or death to patients caused by healthcare providers. Other critics of current society might point to a dilution of individual moral fortitude and a reticence to consider the consequences to others before considering the consequences to self. While research has shown that increased discussions about ethics during the medical school years can yield significant gains in measured moral development, there has been a decrease in teaching and learning around the important topic of moral judgments. This could well contribute to patient outcomes.;The purpose of this study was to compare the moral development of medical students at various stages of their medical education. Cohort groupings for analysis included gender, specific placement in the curriculum, and previous education. University of Tennessee medical students volunteered to take the Defining Issues Test, an instrument that operationalizes the levels of moral development theorized by Lawrence Kohlberg. The resulting data was analyzed using ANOVA, independent t-tests, and correlations.;The study found that there were no significant differences between medical students in any of the separate graduating years, nor were there differences based on those who had participated in a different course of study that included more focus on ethics. There were no differences in students based on gender. There were moderate differences between those students who had previous graduate education and those who did not as well as between those students who had undergraduate majors in the humanities as opposed to those who majored in sciences. While this study cannot be generalized beyond the participating students, the results demonstrate a lack of significant change based on the learning experiences of the students and call into question whether more focus on ethics might incite more significant changes in moral judgment during the medical school experience. |
