Teaching medical ethics to medical students.

The formal teaching of medical ethics is a recent addition to the curricula of U.S. medical schools. In this paper, the author examines the evolution and goals of teaching medical ethics, the nature of medical ethics, and integrating such teaching into the curriculum. The author concludes that teachers of medical ethics must impart knowledge that can be applied to the problems medical students face. Because moral considerations are as much a part of medical decisions as technical considerations, this teaching is best done in the context of real cases with which the student is involved and in which ethical considerations can be shown to make a critical difference. A brief description of such a teaching program is included.