Evaluating ethics competence in medical education

We critically evaluate the ways in which competence in medical ethics has b een evaluated. We report the initial stage in the development of a relevant , reliable and valid instrument to evaluate core critical thinking skills i n medical ethics. This instrument can be used to evaluate the impact of med ical ethics education programmes and to assess whether medical students hav e achieved a satisfactory level of performance of core skills and knowledge in medical ethics, within and across institutions.