Ethics and professionalism education during neonatal-perinatal fellowship training in the United States

Abstract

Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine the perceived adequacy of ethics and professionalism education for neonatal-perinatal fellows in the United States, and to measure confidence of fellows and recent graduates when navigating ethical issues.

Study design: Neonatal-Perinatal Fellowship Directors, fellows and recent graduates were surveyed regarding the quality and type of such education during training, and perceived confidence of fellows/graduates in confronting ethical dilemmas.

Result: Forty-six of 97 Directors (47%) and 82 of 444 fellows/graduates (18%) completed the surveys. Over 97% of respondents agreed that ethics training is 'important/very important'. Only 63% of Directors and 37% of fellows/graduates rated ethics education as 'excellent/very good' (P=0.004). While 96% of Directors reported teaching of ethics, only 70% of fellows/graduates reported such teaching (P<0.001). Teaching methods and their perceived effectiveness varied widely.

Conclusion: Training in ethics and professionalism for fellows is important, yet currently insufficient; a more standardized curriculum may be beneficial to ensure that trainees achieve competency.