Korean J Med Ethics.  2007 Jun;10(1):9-22.

Medical Ethics Education in North-American Medical Schools

• CHEONG YS

Abstract

Medical schools in the United States and Canada now include medical ethics education as an essential part of their curricula. Despite this, recent studies point to deep shortcomings in the literature on medical ethics education. Deficits exist in all areas of the literature: in the theoretical work done on the overall goals of medical ethics education, in the empirical studies that attempt to examine outcomes for students, and in the studies evaluating the effectiveness of various teaching methods. This article summarizes the main findings of three important articles concerning medical ethics education that were originally published in the journal Academic Medicine. This article also discusses the implications of these findings for medical ethics education in Korea. It is argued that further progress in medical ethics education may depend on the willingness of medical schools to devote more curricular time and funding to medical ethics.

Keyword

Medical ethics; Medical ethics education; Medical ethics curriculum; North-American medical schools