Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from Germany
Although veterinary ethics is required in veterinary curricula and part of the competencies expected of a trained veterinary surgeon according to the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), knowledge concerning the effects of ethics teaching and tools evaluating mora...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-02-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/5/586 |
| _version_ | 1797475859813105664 |
|---|---|
| author | Kirsten Persson Wiebke-Rebekka Gerdts Sonja Hartnack Peter Kunzmann |
| author_facet | Kirsten Persson Wiebke-Rebekka Gerdts Sonja Hartnack Peter Kunzmann |
| author_sort | Kirsten Persson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although veterinary ethics is required in veterinary curricula and part of the competencies expected of a trained veterinary surgeon according to the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), knowledge concerning the effects of ethics teaching and tools evaluating moral judgement are scarce. To address this lack of tools with a mixed-methods approach, a questionnaire with three case scenarios presenting typical ethical conflicts of veterinary practice was administered to two groups of veterinary students (one had taken ethics classes, one did not). The questionnaire contained both open-ended and closed questions and was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The qualitative part aimed at revealing different argumentation patterns between the two groups, whereas the quantitative part focused on the students’ approval of different roles and attitudes possibly relating to veterinarians. The results showed no major differences between both groups. However, answering patterns suggest a clear diversity among the students in their perception of morally relevant factors and the veterinary profession. Awareness of morally challenging elements of their profession was presented by students of both groups. With this exploratory study, the application of an innovative mixed-methods tool for evaluating the moral judgement of veterinary medical students is demonstrated. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:49:43Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8f433d09084542d0962664cfce8bfed5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T20:49:43Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-8f433d09084542d0962664cfce8bfed52023-11-23T22:36:50ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-02-0112558610.3390/ani12050586Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from GermanyKirsten Persson0Wiebke-Rebekka Gerdts1Sonja Hartnack2Peter Kunzmann3Applied Ethics in Veterinary Medicine Group, Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, Geb.116, 30173 Hannover, GermanyApplied Ethics in Veterinary Medicine Group, Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, Geb.116, 30173 Hannover, GermanySection of Epidemiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstr. 270, 8057 Zurich, SwitzerlandApplied Ethics in Veterinary Medicine Group, Institute for Animal Hygiene, Animal Welfare and Farm Animal Behaviour, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Foundation, Bischofsholer Damm 15, Geb.116, 30173 Hannover, GermanyAlthough veterinary ethics is required in veterinary curricula and part of the competencies expected of a trained veterinary surgeon according to the European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE), knowledge concerning the effects of ethics teaching and tools evaluating moral judgement are scarce. To address this lack of tools with a mixed-methods approach, a questionnaire with three case scenarios presenting typical ethical conflicts of veterinary practice was administered to two groups of veterinary students (one had taken ethics classes, one did not). The questionnaire contained both open-ended and closed questions and was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. The qualitative part aimed at revealing different argumentation patterns between the two groups, whereas the quantitative part focused on the students’ approval of different roles and attitudes possibly relating to veterinarians. The results showed no major differences between both groups. However, answering patterns suggest a clear diversity among the students in their perception of morally relevant factors and the veterinary profession. Awareness of morally challenging elements of their profession was presented by students of both groups. With this exploratory study, the application of an innovative mixed-methods tool for evaluating the moral judgement of veterinary medical students is demonstrated.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/5/586veterinary ethicsethics educationvignettesqualitative researchquantitative research |
| spellingShingle | Kirsten Persson Wiebke-Rebekka Gerdts Sonja Hartnack Peter Kunzmann Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from Germany Animals veterinary ethics ethics education vignettes qualitative research quantitative research |
| title | Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from Germany |
| title_full | Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from Germany |
| title_fullStr | Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from Germany |
| title_short | Assessing Moral Judgements in Veterinary Students: An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study from Germany |
| title_sort | assessing moral judgements in veterinary students an exploratory mixed methods study from germany |
| topic | veterinary ethics ethics education vignettes qualitative research quantitative research |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/5/586 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kirstenpersson assessingmoraljudgementsinveterinarystudentsanexploratorymixedmethodsstudyfromgermany AT wiebkerebekkagerdts assessingmoraljudgementsinveterinarystudentsanexploratorymixedmethodsstudyfromgermany AT sonjahartnack assessingmoraljudgementsinveterinarystudentsanexploratorymixedmethodsstudyfromgermany AT peterkunzmann assessingmoraljudgementsinveterinarystudentsanexploratorymixedmethodsstudyfromgermany |