Ethics and communication - Does students' comfort addressing ethical issues vary by specialty team?

Ethics education aims to train physicians to identify and resolve ethical i ssues. To address ethical concerns, physicians may need to confront each ot her. We surveyed medical students to determine if their comfort challenging members of their ward teams about ethical issues varies by specialty and w hat attributes of students and their teams contributed to that comfort. Com pared to other specialties, students felt significantly less comfortable ch allenging team members about ethical issues on surgery and obstetrics/gynec ology. We suggest that ethics education must address the atmosphere on ward teams and give students skills to help them speak out despite their discom fort.