Identification of core ethical topics for interprofessional education in the intensive care unit: a thematic analysis

ABSTRACT

Medical educators have not identified effective approaches for interprofessional ethics education of clinicians who work in intensive care units (ICUs), in spite of the fact that ICUs have a high incidence of ethical conflicts. As a first step in designing an interprofessional ethics education initiative tailored to the needs of ICU team members, we interviewed 12 professionals from the medical and surgical ICUs of a tertiary care academic medical center to understand what they know about medical ethics. Respondents were interviewed between November 2016 and February 2017. We used the ‘think aloud’ approach and realist thematic analysis of the sessions to evaluate the extent and content of interprofessional team members’ knowledge of medical ethics. We found wide variation in their knowledge of and facility in applying the principles and concepts of biomedical ethics and ways of resolving ethical conflicts. Ethics education tailored to these areas will help equip critical care professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to discuss and address ethical conflicts encountered in the ICU. Preventive ethics rounds are one approach for providing real-time, embedded interprofessional ethics education in the clinical setting.

KEYWORDS:

• Qualitative methods
• interprofessional learning
• education
• professional competence
• work-based learning
• team-based practice

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine and the ICU faculty and staff who supported this project.

Declaration on Interest

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

Data Availability

The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the participants’ privacy.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed here.

Additional information

Funding

University of Michigan Medical School Continuing Medical Education Innovations Grant.

Notes on contributors

Janice Firn

Janice Firn is affiliated in Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences (CBSSM) and University of Michigan Medical School.

Crystal Rui

Crystal Rui is affiliated in the University of Michigan Medical School.

Christian Vercler

Christian Vercler is affiliated in Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences (CBSSM) and University of Michigan Medical School.

Raymond De Vries

Raymond De Vries is affiliated in Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences (CBSSM) and University of Michigan Medical School.

Andrew Shuman

Andrew Shuman is affiliated in Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences (CBSSM) and University of Michigan Medical School.