Developing an innovative medical ethics and law curriculum—constructing a situation-based, interdisciplinary, court-based learning course: a mixed methods study

Abstract

Background Traditional lecture-based medical ethics and law courses deliver knowledge but may not improve students’ learning motivation. To bridge this theory-to-practice gap and facilitate students’ learning effectiveness, we applied situated-learning theory to design an interdisciplinary court-based learning (CBL) component within the curriculum. Our study aimed to investigate students’ learning feedbacks and propose a creative course design. Methods A total of 135 fourth-year medical students participated in this course. The CBL component included 1 h of introduction, 1 h of court attendance, and 2 h of interdisciplinary discussion with senior physicians, judges, and prosecutors. After the class, we conducted a survey using a mixed-methods approach to gauge students’ perceptions of engagement, performance, and satisfaction. Results A total of 97 questionnaires were received (72% response rate). Over 70% of respondents were satisfied and felt that the class was useful except for role-playing activities (60%). More than 60% reported a better understanding of the practical applications of medical law. Approximately half (54%) reported less anxiety about medical disputes. 73% reported that the lecture provided awareness of potential medical disputes, and most respondents expressed an interest in medical law courses after the court visit (78%). 80% of the respondents were able to display empathy and apply mediation skills. Qualitative analyses showed that students demonstrated new knowledge, including recognizing the significance of the medical profession, distinguishing the importance of physician-patient communication, having confidence in the fairness of the justice system, and being willing to increase their legal knowledge. Conclusions CBL curriculum increases students’ learning motivation in strengthening medical professionalism and medical law, develops students’ empathy for patients and communication skills, as well as builds up students’ trust in the justice system. This novel course design can be applied to teach medical ethics and law.

Evaluating Medical Students' Knowledge of Medical Malpractice: A Pilot Study

“…27 In addition, 70% of medical students who were taught medical law through an innovative curriculum agreed that the course was useful. 28 Teaching medical students about pertinent information regarding medical malpractice and the law may help mitigate their fear about medical malpractice, and have them eventually learn practices that may help prevent lawsuits. In addition, students are open to the idea of learning about medicolegal topics, as they believe that the information will be essential to becoming a physician.…”

Demanded interdisciplinary subjects for integration in medical education program from the point of view of graduated medical physicians and senior medical students: a nationwide mixed qualitative-quantitative study from Iran

“…Another avenue which was demanded by at least one half of the participants in this study for medical curriculum enrichment, was developing a more dynamic education of ethics and law in medicine. This approach is needed for building appropriate rapport between medical doctors and their patients meanwhile understanding of the legal complexities which are inherent in medical practice, as also another study concluded [ 22 ]. Our study also found that lack of empowerment of medical students in anger management is another existing gap in the current medical curriculum, as also resulted by another study [ 23 ].…”

Fostering guardians for frontline medical disputes: a government-led medical dispute mediator training program in Taiwan

“…As such, medical education should steer toward systematically developing programs for medical law education [ 35 ], while pertinent training courses can be integrated into undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing education. For example, medico-legal education, such as court-based learning, visiting actual courts, and creating opportunities to communicate with legal professionals, can help students enrich their knowledge in medical ethics and law and remove negative stereotypes about medical disputes [ 36 ].…”