Abstract
Medical ethics knowledge and practice by healthcare providers is an incredibly critical topic in today's highly advanced and demanding medical care. Objective: To assess the knowledge and attitude of undergraduate medical students regarding medical ethics, and to compare the results among the students of public and private medical colleges of Peshawar. Methods: Over the course of six months, 1203 undergraduate students from a variety of fields participated in an observational cross-sectional study. A standardized questionnaire about medical ethics knowledge, attitudes, and demographics was filled out by the participants. Descriptive statistics and the chi-square test were used in the analysis of the data using SPSS version 27.0 to look for differences between groups. Results: A total of 1203 undergraduate students were enrolled in the study; 60.2% of the participants were men and 39.6% were women. Of these, 66.9% have previously studied medical ethics. 2.1% of the participants had poor knowledge of medical ethics, 26.8% had average knowledge, and 71.1% had good knowledge. Furthermore, 76.2% of students thought that medical ethics ought to be taught in undergraduate programs. While 41.1% of respondents said that medical ethics were merely important to avoid legal issues, 42% of respondents believed that doctors may occasionally act unethically. Conclusions: The study concluded that students in the public and private sectors both possess an adequate amount of knowledge regarding medical ethics. Additionally, students in both fields demonstrate a positive attitude toward the application of medical ethics in the medical field