Surveyed medical schools to determine the scope and content of required, formal ethics components in their curriculums. Found that ethics education is far from homogeneous among medical schools in both content and extensiveness. (EV)

The activities of the Center for Ethics, Medicine, and Public Issues (Texas) are described. The center focuses on the clinical teaching of medical ethics, collaborative teaching and research involving ethicists and clinicians, and the training of future practitioners. Problems and achievements are highlighted. (Author/MSE)

Using the Defining Issues Test, the moral reasoning of 95 Texas A&M University medical students was measured at the beginning of their first semester, after a required first-semester medical ethics course, and after their fourth year. Results show significantly increased moral reasoning at the second and third test administrations, with women…

The development of medical ethics education at the University of California, San Francisco, is chronicled and its contributions to bioethics literature are noted. Emphasis is placed on the importance of using medical cases in such instruction. The University of Washington's ethics program and its potential for innovation are then described.…

The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine has developed a teaching program in clinical ethics which utilizes the clinical knowledge and teaching skills of housestaff and clinical faculty. A detailed table summarizes the four-year curriculum including number of hours each year, teaching methods, sample topics, and principal faculty.…

The medical school's ethics program evolved through cooperation with the humanities department. Key aspects of the program include the teaching of medical ethics in the context of other issues of value and meaning in medicine, and involvement of humanities faculty in the medical center. (Author/MSE)

Issues in the inclusion of medical ethics in the medical curriculum are discussed, including its relevance, whether or not ethics can be taught, whose ethics should be taught, the contribution of the professional ethicist, and the relevance of humanistic studies outside ethics. (MSE)

A discussion of medical ethics in the medical curriculum reviews its recent history, examines areas of consensus, and describes teaching objectives and methods, course content, and program evaluation at preclinical and clinical levels. Prerequisites for successful institutionalization of medical ethics education are defined, and its future is…

The medical school's ethics and human values program spans the medical curriculum from first through fourth year and extends into several residency programs. Taught by scholars in the medical humanities and clinicians from almost every specialty, courses and seminars draw on philosophy, literature, and law. (Author/MSE)

Development of a comprehensive medical ethics teaching program for four years and residency, and of an ethics consultation service, are described. Potentials and significant difficulties in program establishment and maintenance are discussed, including long-term funding, negative faculty and student attitudes, and instructional approaches.…

The relationship between professions and society is changing rapidly. However, society still values the physician as healer and professional. Medicine's professional associations and academic institutions must ensure that all physicians understand professionalism and accept its obligations. They should encourage physicians' moral and intellectual…

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)

A three-year curriculum in medical ethics operates at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University as part of the general internal medicine residency program. The six major topics covered are co-taught as seminars by one or more members of the multidisciplinary ethics faculty (philosopher, internist, and communications specialist) and experienced…

A survey of residents (N=323) in 6 internal medicine programs investigated the topics students wanted included in the medical ethics curriculum and by which of 17 methods they would prefer to be taught. About three-fourths had previous medical ethics instruction, and most wanted more on specific topics, especially legal and end-of-life issues.…

Application of ethical principles to relationships and pedagogic problems in medical education is discussed, focusing on the associations medical students form with teachers, patients, school, each other that shape them as professionals. It is argued that introduction of ethics into these areas can help students and teachers and improve medical…