STUDENT IDENTIFICATION OF ETHICAL ISSUES IN A PRIMARY-CARE SETTING

Ethical issues in the clinical arena have received significant attenti on during the past few decades. Limited focus has been directed toward ethical issues in the primary care office setting. A study was conduc ted to determine the ethical perspectives through critical review disc ussions between medical students and their preceptors during the PCP p rogramme. Major ethical themes and percent of occurrence emerging from an analysis of the summaries of their discussions included decision-m aking (40%), professional standards (16%), locus of care (12%), commun ity responsibility (10%), and confidentiality (10%). This study adds t o the evidence that while the ethical issues prevalent in the primary care setting are less dramatic than those in a hospital, they are suff iciently frequent to warrant inclusion in the curriculum, enabling stu dents to become more sensitive to their existence.