Teaching Ethics in Medical School

Abstract

Teaching ethics in medical school has become an increasing concern for medical educators over the past two decades. The definition and subject matter of medical ethics has changed with the changing nature of health care needs and delivery. Finding ways to introduce concepts of ethical decision-making on an individual as well as social scale into already overcrowded curricula poses a challenge for medical schools. This paper describes some of the approaches which have evolved and identifies medical ethics as a force for integration of the biomedical and psychosocial aspects of medicine.