Should a medical practitioner be aware of ethics? Does knowledge of ethics make you a thoughtful and competent doctor? The society expects medical practice to be based on sound ethical principles. But then what are these principles? Who decides what is unethical? Does ethics vary among different groups, societies or countries? Why more and more medical trials are now being conducted in the third world countries? Does the poor unsuspecting population of the third world become a guinea pig for the multinational companies? To what extent can learning ethics in a medical school produce a caring physician? How many of us put ourselves or our near and dear ones in the position of the patient before making a medical decision, more so in a difficult situation.
Surgical workshop is the order of the day and has become very popular among surgeons. Are there any ethical guidelines to govern them? How often does a new surgical procedure go through proper checks and balances before being adopted widely in medical practice? This has led to see one, do one and teach one principle and has resulted in an undisciplined introduction of laparoscopy and many other similar surgical procedures in Urology and General surgery and has earned dubious distinction of the biggest unaudited free for all in the history of surgery. The terminology of surgical learning curve has gained popularity due to the mishaps, which have occurred during the learning of laparoscopy. I am sure that the aviation industry that trains pilots would be in for a rude shock if they knew how we are trained before we adopt these new procedures.
