BackgroundRecent findings suggest that medical students’ moral competence decreases throughout medical school. This pilot study gives preliminary insights into the effects of two educational interventions in ethics classes on moral competence among medical students in Munich, Germany.MethodsBetween 2012 and 2013, medical students were tested using Lind’s Moral Competence Test (MCT) prior to and after completing different ethics classes. The experimental group (EG, N = 76) participated in principle-based structured case discussions (PBSCDs) and was compared with a control group with theory-based case discussions (TBCDs) (CG, N = 55). The pre/post C-scores were compared using a Wilcoxon Test, ANOVA and effect-size calculation.ResultsThe C-score improved by around 3.2 C-points in the EG, and by 0.2 C-points in the CG. The mean C-score difference was not statistically significant for the EG (P = 0.14) or between the two groups (P = 0.34). There was no statistical significance for the teachers’ influence (P = 0.54) on C-score. In both groups, students with below-average (M = 29.1) C-scores improved and students with above-average C-scores regressed. The increase of the C-Index was greater in the EG than in the CG. The absolute effect-size of the EG compared with the CG was 3.0 C-points, indicating a relevant effect.ConclusionTeaching ethics with PBSCDs did not provide a statistically significant influence on students’ moral competence, compared with TBCDs. Yet, the effect size suggests that PBSCDs may improve moral competence among medical students more effectively. Further research with larger and completely randomized samples is needed to gain definite explanations for the results.
<p>In competitive education test scores and scientometric indicators are 'the alpha and omega'. This can be mis-educative for healthcare students’ moral competence. A pilot research study with <i>n=</i>114 Polish healthcare students was conducted to examine how their moral competence development was affected by learning environment with the focus on competition. Data were obtained with the standard Moral Competence Test. <i>Results. </i>The sample allowed the identification of a regress in moral competence during students’ pre-clinical curriculum, and then progress during their clinical curriculum. Also, a reverse gender gap effect concerning participants’ C-scores (C for moral competence) was observed, but no significant segmentation effect was noticed. <i><u>Explanations</u></i>. Scholarly literature usually suggests a decrease or stagnation of medical and healthcare students’ C-scores (particularly during their clinical curriculum) resulting from, e.g., competitive trends in higher education. Polish tertiary education only tries hard to increase its competitiveness and position in national and international rankings. This delay effect seems beneficial for the development of students’ moral competence against trends in moral competence education during medical education documented between 1983 and 2021, and additionally discussed in the following article. </p>
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