Residents' preparation for and ability to manage ethical conflicts in Korean residency programs

The doctor-patient relationship in Korea has been deteriorating, and the nu mbers of malpractice suits and other medical disputes have been increasing annually for the past decade. Part of the problem may be physicians' lack o f ethics education. The author and colleagues surveyed Korean residents fro m 14 university hospitals and found that most regularly experienced serious ethical dilemmas and had difficulty appropriately managing them. Few were familiar with medical law, and many resolved ethical conflicts either on th eir own or by talking with colleagues. Many did not follow guidelines for o btaining informed consent. Few had ethics committees or consultants availab le to them, and most did not discuss ethical dilemmas with attending physic ians. The author describes the kinds of dilemmas faced by Korean residents and how they manage them. and he offers recommendations for improving ethic s education and the ethics environment for Korean medical students and resi dents.