Moral reasoning competencies development in community pharmacists in Ireland : a repeated measures crossover study

Abstract

Research suggests that higher levels of moral reasoning competencies increase the probability that community pharmacists will make decisions in the patient's 'best interests'. Professional ethics education incorporates the Four Component Model (FCM) of morality, namely moral sensitivity, reasoning, motivation and implementation, as interactive elements in the development of a professional. Moral reasoning is the component specifically considered in this Ph.D. study. The Defining Issues Test (DIT2) is a psychometric measure that has been validated for use as a measure of moral reasoning competencies development. Research with other professions indicates that DIT2 scores correlate positively with improved professional behaviour, improved patient care and/or the likelihood that a practitioner will report errors. Flowever, literature also indicates that community pharmacists are a rare exception to the expectation that moral reasoning competencies increase with age or 'tenure' in a profession. Both the FCM and the DIT2 derive from Neo-Kohibergian theory, and the expectation that there is potential for an educational intervention of an appropriate design to make a measurable impact on moral reasoning competency/-ies development as measured by the DIT2 has been supported by the literature reviewed.