The Teaching of Ethics in Medical Schools in Brazil

Abstract: The current study focused on an evaluation of the teaching of ethics in the 103 accredited medical schools in Brazil in 2001. The results were compared with those of an equivalent study conducted ten years previously. The survey was conducted using questionnaires and personal contact with subjects. The main results showed that ethics is taught in 93 schools ( of which tem are new).In 32,3% of the schools, ethics is a course in itself, while in 58% of these schools it is taught within another/other subject(s), mostly together with forensic medicine. In 5,4% of the medical schools it is both a course in itself and is taught within another/other discipline(s). In 4,3% of the cases, teaching of ethics is associated with interdisciplinar modules. In most medical schools it is only a lecture topic in the fourth year. In 63,4% of the schools, total ethics course time does not exceed 45 classroom hours, in 74,2% it corresponds to a maximum of 60 hours. The authors conclude that in the last 10 years no significant changes have taken place in the teaching of ethics in medical schools in Brazil, although there appears to be a trend towards improvement.