INSTITUTIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEE: A PERSPECTIVE OF THE MEDICAL TEACHERS OF WEST BENGAL
*Dr. Aditi Chaudhuri, Dr. Krishnangshu Ray and Dr. Akhil Bandhu Biswas
ABSTRACT
Background: No formal training on Ethics Committee is given to the medical students in undergraduate and postgraduate education though there have been many reports in supporting the incorporation of ethical and legal issues into medical curricula. Objective: To study the knowledge of composition and functioning of IEC among the medical teachers of government medical colleges in West Bengal. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted during the period between September and October 2015 at the nodal training institute for doctors at Kolkata, West Bengal. Total 100 medical teachers from government medical colleges of West Bengal were enrolled for the study. A pretested, structured, closed ended questionnaire was administered to them after seeking verbal consent. Data was analyzed using SPSS 20. Result: 67% of the study population were well informed about the existence of IEC in any institution. 33% gave satisfactory responses about the composition and 29% in relation to functioning. 7% were experienced as IEC member and 8% were trained on medical ethics. There was no significant association between levels of awareness of IEC with increasing seniority of the medical teachers. The most common wrong answer was ?ICH-GCP? as the mostly accepted national guideline of bioethics. Conclusion: The highest standards of clinical practice can be achieved better with the integration of medical ethics with the existing MBBS & Postgraduate curricula of all medical schools.
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