Int J Pharm Pract 2002:10:153-160

Department of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA 22601, USA

Original Papers

An assessment of the level of moral development of American and Canadian pharmacy students

DAVID A. LATIF

Context — Moral reasoning assessment is an assessment of conceptual adequacy of moral thinking. It attempts to tap the basic conceptual frameworks that individuals use to analyse social-moral problems and to judge the proper course of action. It is a significant construct because of its pragmatic and positive relationship to clinical performance in health professionals. Thus, pharmacy students at higher levels of moral reasoning can be expected to perform at higher levels on clinical performance measurements.

Objective — To examine the moral reasoning of pharmacy students at schools of pharmacy in the United States and Canada.

Method — Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used as a surrogate measure of pharmacy students' moral reasoning and was completed by all first-year pharmacy students at one school of pharmacy in the US and one in Canada.

Results — The results indicated that significant differences existed between the Canadian and American pharmacy students. The Canadian students scored significantly higher than their American counterparts. The mean moral reasoning score of both classes was lower than previous empirical research results from other first-year health professional students. The results are discussed along with potential educational interventions and suggestions for selecting pharmacy students to schools of pharmacy.

Conclusion — This is the first study to have assessed moral reasoning in pharmacy students. The reasons for differences between US and Canadian students are unknown. The lower scores of pharmacy students compared with other student health professionals indicate that further research is needed.