A survey of all 16 Canadian medical schools found that 15 provided some ethics education. Time allocated ranged from 10-45 hours per degree, with no discernible pattern of distribution across years. Most teaching was case based and issue oriented, most instructors were physicians, and most schools used a pass-fail standard. (Author/MSE)

This paper argues that medical ethics education relies too much on strategies that target ethical thinking and should focus more on students as ethical actors in specific clinical contexts, responding to ethical dilemmas. Traditional approaches may not offer the skills students need to learn norms of ethical behavior. Strategies for encouraging…

An Association of American Medical Colleges working group on student professional ethics suggests improving (1) admission criteria; (2) the medical school learning climate, including consideration of cultural diversity; and (3) communication of expectations to students. An AAMC initiative for instruction, instructional material development, and…