Ethical clinical training (ECT) during the first rotation and its relation to students�?? satisfaction and personal growth

Abstract

Netta Notzer, Ruth Abramovitz, Sky Gross, Yehiel Michael Barilan

Clinical instruction should provide students not only with knowledge and skills, but also with ethical clinical training (ECT). In the first rotation, the students are exposed for the first time to the actual behaviors of the practice in a hospital ward (the “hidden curriculum”). Based on the theory of Virtue ethics, we hypothesize that effective rotation should combine the students’ personal satisfaction with positive experience regarding ethical and professional conduct. The objectives of this study were: (1) To report students' perceptions of ECT using quantitative and verbal data. (2) To examine the relationship between ECT and students' professional and personal satisfaction during the first rotation.We uses a sample of 150 Tel-Aviv University medical school students, trained in 21 affiliated internal medicine wards, 88% of which responded to a questionnaire that addressed students’ views on ECT and reports on ethical events they encountered, as well as students’ professional satisfaction and personal growth in relation to background characteristics. According to quantitative and verbal descriptions, ECT level was high in the majority of the wards. Students identified a range of events relating to ECT, especially in the wards which excelled in ethical instruction. The contribution of ECT to students' satisfaction with the professional aspects was significant.The students' background characteristics were not connected with their satisfaction level.The results confirm that highly positive ethical instruction in the clinical phase is effective. Students identified and internalized ethical events and were more satisfied with the training in wards that focused on ethical issues. We suggest putting more resources into the improvement of ECT and into the study its effects in other rotations.