Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38982353›Full record

ArticleBMC medical education2024

The current status and challenges of bioethics education in undergraduate medical education in Karachi, Pakistan.

Bushra Shirazi, Qamar Riaz, Aamir Mustafa Jafarey, Rashida Ahmed, Mohammad Shahid Shamim

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical education, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Bushra ShiraziDepartment of Surgery and Centre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture, SIUT, Karachi, Pakistan. bbushrashirazi@gmail.com.
Qamar RiazDepartment for Educational Development, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Aamir Mustafa JafareyCentre of Biomedical Ethics and Culture, SIUT, Karachi, Pakistan.
Rashida AhmedSection of Histopathology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
Mohammad Shahid ShamimAga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe importance of including bioethics in the medical curricula has been recognized globally. Certain countries including Pakistan continue to lag behind although some developments have occurred recently.

objectivesThe research aimed to provide a snapshot of bioethics education in undergraduate medical colleges in Karachi, Pakistan. The secondary objectives included identifying factors promoting or inhibiting integration of bioethics into the curriculum.

methodsA two-pronged strategy was used to collect data including a website review of medical colleges, in existence for more than ten years, recognized by the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), the regulating body for undergraduate medical education in Pakistan. The other arm employed in-depth interviews with medical educationists in colleges fulfilling inclusion criteria. Data from the website was analyzed and presented as frequencies. Qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis method which involved coding of transcripts, multiple readings and arriving at subthemes and themes iteratively.

resultsThirteen medical colleges were included for the website review, of which four were from public sector. Three medical colleges used the word "ethics" in their vision and mission statement and four had provided a detailed curriculum for ethics on their website. Thematic framework included four broad themes: 1) Need for Bioethics Education, 2) Current Status of Bioethics Education 3) Challenges in integration of bioethics in medical curriculum and 4) Recommendations for integration of bioethics in the Curriculum. Participants were in agreement that bioethics was important in development of future physicians. Participants identified various challenges, foremost being shortage of trained faculty, lack of institutional buy-in and overcrowded curriculum.

conclusionThe study identified sporadic inclusion of bioethics in undergraduate medical curricula, left to the discretion of individual institutions. Since Karachi is a cosmopolitan city, the findings may reasonably reflect the situation in other parts of the country. While bioethics is recognized as an important field, it will continue to remain an orphan subject in the curricula unless the regulatory and accreditation bodies make it compulsory for institutions to include ethics in their curricula.

Indexed as

BioethicsCurriculumEducation, Medical, UndergraduateHumansPakistanQualitative ResearchBioethicsChallengesMedical educationUndergraduate medical curriculum

Identifiers

PMID38982353
PMCPMC11232150

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.