CHANGES IN ATTITUDES TOWARDS ETHICAL ISSUES DURING MEDICAL STUDIES

The aim of this work was to explore the attitude changes towards ethic o-medical issues in medical students as they went through medical scho ol. A personal standardized questionnaire containing 14 closed and dir ect questions was applied to 27 freshmen, 38 interns and 14 post gradu ates. The most outstanding differences in ethical attitudes occurred b etween first year students and the older groups. The younger students adhered to ethical principles, valued justice towards patients and mor al integrity in physicians. The older students and post graduates emph asized the professional role of physicians and preferred institutional ethical regulations over public control. They also considered more va luable therapeutic efficiency and paternal attitudes towards patients as well as social prestige and economical rewards. We conclude that th ere is a progressive erosion of humanistic principles along the medica l studies, that are substituted by a model of professional competence, social recognition and internal ethical control.