Medical professional values and education: a survey on italian students of the medical doctor school in medicine and surgery

Background: The values such as participation/empathy, communication/sharing, self-awareness, moral integrity, sensitivity/trustfulness, commitment to ongoing professional development, and sense of duty linked to the practice of the medical professionalism were defined by various professional oaths.

Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate how these values are considered by the students of the degree course of medicine.

Materials and methods: Four hundred twenty three students (254 females, 169 males) taking part of the first, fourth, and fifth years of the degree course in medicine were asked to answer seven questions. Pearson's Chi-square, Wilcoxon rank sum test, and Kruskal-Wallis test were used for the statistical analysis.

Results: The survey showed a high level of knowledge and self-awareness about the values and skills of medical profession. In particular, the respect, accountability, and the professional skills of competence were considered fundamental in clinical practice. However, the students considered that these values not sufficiently present in their educational experience.

Conclusions: Teaching methods should be harmonized with the contents and with the educational needs to ensure a more complex patient-based approach and the classical lectures of teachers should be more integrated with learning through experience methods.