Using newly deceased patients in teaching clinical skills: its ethical and educational challenges
Journal Title: Journal of Advances in Medical Education and Professionalism - Year 2018, Vol 6, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction: The newly deceased patients have long been used in medical schools to teach clinical skills without any challenges as it helps to train skilled doctors. Nowadays, the use of moulages and simulators are common in teaching clinical skills since these tools provide the opportunity for frequent practice without any pain and injury. There are specific procedures which still require the use of cadavers. However, the increased significance of patient rights has generally challenged the practicality of using the deceased bodies for this purpose. This study was designed with the aim of determining to what extent clinical skill training is dependent on the recently deceased patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional mixed-method triangulation design conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data of the medical students and residents. The data were used to assess the frequency of experience. In the second stage, semi-structured interviews were conducted with faculty members and fellows in order to evaluate the educational impact of this type of procedure and the influential factors. The quantitative data were analyzed using statistical software, and the qualitative codes were extracted following a content analysis. Finally, a comparative analysis was performed. Results: Twenty five residents (26%) and seven medical students (14%) had the experience of performing procedures on the recently deceased patients for training purposes. About half of the residents and 33% of the medical students had observed their colleagues practicing procedures on cadavers. In the qualitative phase, the main categories included professional ethics, law and educational requirements. Conclusion: A relatively low number of medical students and residents had experienced procedures on the newly deceased patients. In this regard, ethical, religious and legal concerns might have played a part despite the desire to learn. It would be effective to direct these educational experiences toward procedures that cannot be mastered through moulages and simulators, and to lay the legal and executive ground so that performing these procedures under the supervision of professors, and with a level of documentation would have no legal challenges.
Authors and Affiliations
MAHBOOBEH SABER, SEYED ALI ENJOO, ALI MAHBOUDI, SEYED ZIAADIN TABEI
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP343786
- DOI -
- Views 88
- Downloads 0
Interdisciplinary and inter-institutional differences in learning preferences among Malaysian medical and health sciences students
Introduction: The learner-centred approach in medical and health sciences education makes the study of learning preferences relevant and important. This study aimed to investigate the interdisciplinary, interinstitutiona...
Experiences of nursing students of evidence-based practice education according to rogers’ diffusion of innovation model: a directed content analysis
Introduction: Evidence based practice (EBP) education is essential in promoting of clinical care, but an effective educational strategy for teaching EBP in nursing faculties is not available. The aim of this study was to...
Implementation of standardized patient program using local resources in Avalon School of Medicine
Introduction: The standardized Patient Program (SPP) is a standard educational training method which provides the preclinical students a better clinical foundation by linking the realm of clinical medicine to basic scien...
Mentoring medical students by their Peers, Three Years’ experience at Shiraz Medical School
In respect of the scientific and cultural aspects of medical universities, the necessity of availing new methods is absolutely evident (1, 2). In mentorship programs an experienced student (mentor) takes the responsibili...
Effect of formative evaluation using direct observation of procedural skills in assessment of postgraduate students of obstetrics and gynecology: Prospective study
Introduction: Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) is a way of evaluating procedural skills through observation in the workplace. The purpose of this study was to assess the role of DOPS in teaching and assessm...