Approach of Medical Students to Academic Research – The Futility of Crude Consequentialism

Abstract

The means-ends debate lies at the very core of the subject of ethics. However, instead of adopting a dichotomous, black-and-white attitude, it has been realized that one could pursue a goal oriented approach even without compromising on ethical standards. It would be prudent for students to inculcate such a balanced viewpoint in the formative years of medical education while pursuing their academic and co-curricular ambitions - being a part of research studies, for example. In order to extract the best of their experiences, students must not restrict their outlook to academic research merely as an addition to their résumés or just a task to be ticked off the to-do list. They should broaden their horizons and consider it as a privilege to be able to contribute to the profession and society even as young students of medicine.