Medical ethics as practiced by students, nurses and faculty members in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

INTRODUCTION Assuming any social role has obligations and fulfilling the related responsibilities has ethical aspects that must be addressed carefully. Each role requires extensive training, which usually takes place in university institutions. Ethics is applied in at least three academic areas, including: a) in education of students' personal growth, b) in patient care, and c) in university communion in population-based health care. Given the importance of this issue in the moral domain, this study examines the correlation among the students, nurses and teacher's opinions regarding principles of medical ethics at Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. METHODS This is a descriptive-analytic and cross-sectional study conducted in 2010. The participants of this research consisted of all medical students, nurses in public hospitals, and faculty members in Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. For validity evaluation, the expert panel method and for reliability evaluation, test-retest method was used. RESULTS Based on the medical ethics' scores in these three groups, there was a significant relationship between the mean scores of student-nurses and employed nurses, but there was no significant relationship between those of student-faculties. Also the mean score of the students was the highest in medical ethics. CONCLUSION In this study, we presented a list of virtues and moral characteristics of medical staff and found out the method of practicing medical ethics in everyday life of students to improve the moral reasoning of teachers, nurses and students. Moreover, medical ethics, with the presentation of specific criteria for ethical behavior in various domains of human life, especially in dealing with patients, can help practice ethical values in the medical community.