General surgeons and clinical ethics: a survey.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the preoccupation of general surgeons concerning ethics.

DESIGN

A survey by questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS

One thousand members of the Canadian Association of General Surgeons were surveyed through a questionnaire, which inquired about the influence of ethics in their clinical practices. The questionnaire contained 12 questions. There was no recall for those who did not respond.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Responses to questions concerning the sex of the respondents, location of practice, number of years in practice, the presence of hospital support, surgeons' interest in ethical issues, use of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice in solving ethical dilemmas and level of education in clinical ethics.

RESULTS

Men made up 95% of the respondents; 64% of respondents had been in practice more than 16 years; 58% came from a community or regional hospital; only 10% had no interest in clinical ethics; only 3% stated that they experienced no ethical problems in their practices; and 52% had no formal education in ethics.

CONCLUSIONS

There was general sensitivity for clinical ethics but an evident lack of formal education and of the presence of ethics committees and ethics consultants in many hospitals.