Twelve tips to avoid ethical pitfalls when recruiting students as subjects in medical education research

Abstract

Medical education research has unique characteristics that raise their own set of ethical issues, which differ significantly from those commonly found in clinical research. In contexts where researchers have a dual role as teachers, free consent to participate in research may be undermined and students’ data must be kept confidential from faculty who play any role in their academic or professional path. Faculty members who recruit students as research subjects within their institution for education research should pay particular attention to ensure students’ consent to participate is indeed free and continuous and that their privacy is adequately protected. A good understanding of ethical standards and of the appropriate strategies to fulfill them is essential to conduct ethical medical education research and to ensure ethics approval is obtained. These twelve tips draw from the Declaration of Helsinki, from the ICMJE recommendations and from the example of their application to medical education research in a Canadian and North American context. They aim to act as a reminder and as a guide to address the main ethical issues which should be given proper consideration when designing a study involving students as subjects for medical education research.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Notes on contributors

Élisabeth Boileau, MD, MSc, is an emergency physician and is the Program Director for the Family Medicine Enhanced Skills residency program at the Université de Sherbrooke. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Emergency Medicine. She is also completing a master’s degree in Health Law and Politics (LL.M.).

Johane Patenaude, PhD, is the Director of the InterNE3LS Interdisciplinary Research Group at the Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT). She is a Full Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Université de Sherbrooke. At the time of writing the manuscript, she was Chair of the Institutional Université de Sherbrooke Ethics Committee.

Christina St-Onge, PhD, holds the Paul Grand’Maison de la Société des Médecins de l’Université de Sherbrooke Medical Education Research Chair. She has served on the Ethics Committee for Research, Education and Social Sciences at the Université de Sherbrooke. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and she is affiliated with the Centre de pédagogie des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke.