How confident are general practitioners in teaching medical students about ethical issues on general practice placements?

Background: Despite a paucity of evidence to guide teaching about medical professionalism and ethical issues, there is a widespread consensus that medical students should learn about these issues on clinical placements. Exploring the confidence of general practitioners (GPs) in teaching various topics will identify areas for further discussion, support and/or training.

Methods: A survey was developed and distributed to 65 teaching practices. Thirty-seven GPs responded by rating their confidence in teaching about 32 different ethical issues.

Results: Overall, GPs were confident in teaching about these issues. Confidence was lowest for doctors' social and political responsibilities; ethical lapses in colleagues; impairment in colleagues; cross-cultural issues; and moral motivation, judgement, courage and sensitivity.

Discussion: Further training for GP teachers may be particularly useful in the important areas of impairment and lapses in colleagues, and cross-cultural issues. Uncertainty about the scope of doctors' social and political responsibilities may limit GP confidence in teaching in these areas.