Pilot study of the defining issues test

We have performed a preliminary study1 to examine whether the moral reasoning skills of medical students and residents change over the course of their training. We provide here some data for comparison with the results of Johane Patenaude and associates2 and the reports cited in their paper. Our group used the Defining Issues Test, version 2 (DIT-2),3,4 a short, validated, self-administered test for measuring such skills. The instrument was administered in 2001 to all first- and fourth-year medical students at the University of Manitoba, as well as to a random sample of first- and final-year medical residents. Confidentiality was assured by the use of unique identification numbers. Comparisons between groups and the data analysis were conducted by the Center for the Study of Ethical Development at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, which developed the DIT-2. The centre has shown that higher scores are linked to positive valuing of democratic ideals and to community and civic responsibility.5 In addition, orthopedic surgeons with higher scores had a significantly lower risk of malpractice claims.6