Ethical ideology: an inquiry into factors affecting the ethical position of selected future health administrators and practitioners

Abstract

Members of the health professions are being faced with a wide range of ethical dilemmas, the resolution of which will often be influenced by the ethical ideology of individuals in various health fields.

The purpose of this study was to measure the ethical position of junior and senior students in several health disciplines to determine if such factors as discipline, sex, ethnic membership, religious conviction, and locus of control were predictors of their ethical ideology.

Two hundred sixty-seven junior and senior students enrolled in allied health, nursing, and medicine programs at two universities completed questionnaire's used in the study. One university was predominantly black and the other was predominantly white. Subjects were administered the Ethics Position Questionnaire and Rotter I-E Locus of Control Scale. Subjects also completed a personal data sheet.

The results indicated that there was a significant difference in ethical ideology among health profession students as a function of type of health profession. Medical students tended to be subjectivist, nursing students, exceptionist; while allied health students were either situationist or absolutist. There were some evidence in the literature to support the results obtained for medical and nursing students. In addition, the literature would suggest that members of the same profession tend to share common values.