Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Hayes, Risa P.
• Stoudemire, Alan S.
• Kinlaw, Kathy
• Lynn Dell, Mary
• Loomis, Amy

Titel

Changing Attitudes About End-of-Life Decision Making of Medical Students During Third-Year Clinical Clerkships

Ist Teil von

• Psychosomatics (Washington, D.C.), 1999-05, Vol.40 (3), p.205-211

Ort / Verlag

Washington, DC: Elsevier Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

1999

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• To better define the learning objectives of ethics curricula and evaluate changes in medical students’ attitudes about end-of-life decision making, enrolled students (N = 96) of a pilot medical ethics program were surveyed at the beginning and end of their third-year clinical clerkship about their experiences and attitudes about end-of-life decision making. At the end of their clinical clerkship year, the majority of students had participated in end-of-life decisions, prioritized patient autonomy and quality-of-life issues, were concerned about legal liability, were polarized over issues such as physician-assisted suicide, and gained confidence in their ethical decisionmaking ability. To train future physicians such that clinical practice is consistent with ethical guidelines and legislation on end-of-life care, medical ethics curricula should focus on symptom relief, clarification of legal issues, and resolution of conflicts between personal beliefs and public opinion about such issues as physician-assisted suicide. Appropriate role-modeling and mentoring by residents and attending physicians should also be emphasized.