General surgeons and clinical ethics: A survey

OBJECTIVE: TO determine the preoccupation of general surgeons concerning et hics. DESIGN: A survey by questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand members of the Canadian Association of General S urgeons were surveyed through a questionnaire, which inquired about the inf luence of ethics in their clinical practices. The questionnaire contained 1 2 questions. There was no recall for those who did not respond. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to questions concerning the sex of the res pondents, location of practice, number of years in practice, the presence o f hospital support, surgeons' interest in ethical issues, use of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice in solving ethical dilemmas and lev el of education in clinical ethics. RESULTS: Men made up 95% of the respondents; 64% of respondents had been in practice more than 16 years; 58% came from a community or regional hospita l; only 10% had no interest in clinical ethics; only 3% stated that they ex perienced no ethical problems in their practices; and 52% had no formal edu cation in ethics. CONCLUSIONS: There was general sensitivity for clinical ethics but an evide nt lack of formal education and of the presence of ethics committees and et hics consultants in many hospitals.