OBJECTIVES To determine the relationship between ethical reasoning and gender and occupation among a group of male and female nurses and doctors. DESIGN Partialist and impartialist forms of ethical reasoning were defined and singled out as being central to the difference between what is known as the "care" moral orientation (Gilligan) and the "justice" orientation (Kohlberg). A structured que...

Speaking from the perspective of a clinician and teacher, good medical ethics needs to make medicine better. Over the past 50 years medical ethics has helped shape the culture in medicine and medical practice for the better. However, recent healthcare scandals in the UK suggest more needs to be done to translate ethical reasoning into ethical practice. Focusing on clinical practice and individu...

The emergence of H1N1 in 2009 shows that it is a mistake to regard the scenario of having to implement pandemic plans as merely hypothetical. This recent experience provides an opportunity to inquire into the current state of pandemic preparedness plans with regard to their ethical adequacy. One aspect that deserves consideration in this context is the disclosure of ethical reasoning. According...

This exploratory study evaluated curricular content and evaluation mechanisms related to ethics and professionalism in the baccalaureate dental hygiene program at Idaho State University. Competency-based education requires enhanced student preparation in ethical reasoning, critical thinking, and decision-making. Graduates must integrate concepts, beliefs, principles, and values to fulfill ethic...

I assessed change in students’ moral reasoning following five 75-min classes on business ethics and two assignments utilizing a novel pedagogical approach designed to foster ethical reasoning skills. To minimize threats to validity present in previous studies, an untreated control group design with preand posttraining measures was used. Training (n = 114) and control (n = 76) groups comprised f...