Impact of a New Module to Enhance the Learning of Ethical Principles in Students of Phase I MBBS Course

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background: Healthcare decisions need to be based not only on clinical and technical grounds but also on ethical considerations. Aims: To develop a module for teaching ethics to newly admitted medical students and help medical students recognize the importance of being sensitive to ethical issues in daily clinical practice and develop the ability to address the ethical concerns of patients efficiently. Methodology: An interactive module was developed and introduced among first-phase MBBS students over a period of 4 weeks after taking institutional ethical clearance and informed consent of the participants. Results: Two hundred students of First Phase MBBS batch 2021-2022 participated in the study. Students performed significantly better in the post-test examination (mean ± standard deviation: 89.65 ± 4.9) as compared to the pretest examination (mean ± standard deviation: 49.34 ± 12.02); P value <.0001**. Students and faculty members were satisfied with the teaching-learning methodology implemented. In the one-month period of time, 48 students could complete the Good Clinical Practice course available at https://gcp.nidatraining.org/with more than 80% marks after appearing for 11 examinations and receiving certificates valid for three years. Conclusions: The present module on medical ethics introduced among first-phase MBBS students helped them to learn the core principles of ethics in medicine. It increased their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.