2025 Volume 13 Pages 47-63
A preliminary survey was conducted among participants of the advanced clinical ethics certification course as part of the preparatory research for creating the Japan Association for Clinical Ethics’ “Guide to Ethics Consultation.” The response rate was 88％. Among the five areas of difficulty, 53％ and 37％ of respondents felt difficulties in initiation and reaching, respectively, while 18％, 18％, and 11％ reported difficulties in quality, maintenance, and feedback. Common concerns among those who experienced difficulties included worries about workload, lack of confidence in clinical ethics skills, insufficient educational opportunities, lack of confidence in the quality of ethical analysis, personal burdens, and challenges in reaching consensus with the clinical site. From free-form responses, 15 categories were identified, including understanding from hospital executive board, recruitment of personnel, methods of feedback, and disconnection from the needs of the field. Few concrete solutions were proposed, indicating that specific solutions should be included in the “Guide” to address these issues.
