A Qualitative Study of Students’, Teachers’, and Administrators’ Perspectives on Educational Ethics in Medical Education in Türkiye

Background: This study investigated the views and experiences of students, teachers, and administrators regarding educational ethics to gain a deeper understanding of the role educational ethics can play in medical education. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of ethical issues related to increasingly complex medical education and may encourage all stakeholders in the field of medical education to reflect on these issues. Method: In this qualitative study, we conducted 29 individual interviews with medical teachers and medical school administrators and seven focus group interviews with 45 medical students. Interviews took place in 2020 at seven medical schools with different qualifications in Türkiye. We examined the interview data using thematic content analysis. Findings: We developed six themes: 1) fundamental ethical values in medical education, 2) responsibilities of medical students, 3) responsibilities of medical teachers, 4) responsibilities of medical school administrators, 5) ethical problems experienced in learning-teaching processes, and 6) suggestions for solutions to ethical problems in teaching processes. Conclusion: Our findings provide a basic rationale for considering educational ethics in medical education. Educational ethics appear to be important in creating an academic climate in which human values are protected, thus promoting professional identity formation and internalization of the medical profession’s ethical values. Medical schools should be encouraged to prepare position statements as a sign of ethical sensitivity to maintain and enhance the value of trust in medicine among both the public and members of the medical community.