What and How Psychiatry Residents at Ten Training Programs Wish to Learn About Ethics

¹ Medical Student Education, Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
² Department of Psychiatry, University of New Mexico; University Hospital
³ Neuropsychiatry and Memory Group, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland
⁴ Department of Medicine, University of New Mexico
⁵ Division of Medical Ethics, Department of Internal Medicine, Latter Day Saints' Hospital and University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City
⁶ Division of Medical Ethics and Humanities, Department of Medical Ethics and Humanities, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Florida College of Medicine, Tampa
⁷ Medical College of Georgia, Atlanta
⁸ Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis
⁹ Cancer Center Biostatistics Group, University of New Mexico
¹⁰ The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
¹¹ Department of Psychiatry, Cornell University Medical College, New York
¹² Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
¹³ Center for Clinical Medical Ethics; University of Chicago, Illinois

The study's objective was to survey what and how psychiatry residents want to learn about ethics during residency. A 4-page questionnaire developed for this study was sent to 305 residents at 10 adult psychiatry programs in the United States. One-hundred and eightyone (59%) of those surveyed responded. Seventy-six percent reported facing an ethical dilemma in residency for which they felt unprepared. Forty-six percent reported having received no ethics training during residency. More than 50% of the respondents requested that "more" curricular attention be paid to 19 specific ethics topics and more than 40% for 25 topics. Preferences with respect to learning methods are presented. This survey may provide guidance in structuring the content and process of ethics education for psychiatry residents. These findings should stimulate the efforts of faculty to commit time and attention to this important curricular area.

Note:

The authors thank Dr. Ruth Benca for her participation in the survey study and Dr. Tina walch for her comments in developing the survey instrument; Ms. Kay Browning Moolenijzer for her assistance with data analysis; and Ms. Elynn Cowden, Ms. Mary Davidson, Ms. Brenda Martinez, and Ms. Betty Bierner for secretarial support.

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