Validation of the Defining Issues Test on medicine students of Universidad del Rosario, in Colombia

Medicine learning is a complex process demanding more each time. The acquisition of technical knowledge must be part of a comprehensive education, favoring the development of high level humanistic values. Thus contributing to provide the medical professional with personal tools for the correct dictum of ethical dilemmas he or she will face during his education and professional practice. At the same time, the assessment and improvement of these aspects in the medical professional education are necessary. In this study, the reliability of the Opinion on Social Problems Questionnaire (COPS, for its acronym in Spanish) was evaluated; COPS is the Mexican version of the Defining Issues Test (DIT), adapted by the authors. The performance of the test's items was analyzed on medical students of Universidad del Rosario (University of Rosario), in Bogota, Colombia, during the year 2006. Cronbach's Alfa was 0.76, similar to that informed in scientific literature. The COPS is a reliable instrument to evaluate the moral judgment of medical students of this university.