Indian J Med Ethics Vol VIII (Cumulative Vol XXXI) No 1 Jan-Mar 2023 [32] Authors: Laxmi Govindraj, (laxmi.g@cmcvellore.ac.in), Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA; Samuel Santhosh (sammy.sathosh@cmcvellore.ac.in), Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA; Serin Cheruvathoor Sunish (serin.c@cmcvellore.ac.in), Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA; Abinaya Vannapatti Gopalakrishnan (abhinaya.v@cmcvellore.ac.in), Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA; Sujith J Chandy (sjchandy@cmcvellore.ac.in), Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA; Vinay  Oommen (vinayoommen@cmcvellore.ac.in), Department of Physiology and Medical Education, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA; Margaret Shanthi FX (corresponding author - drmaggi29@cmcvellore.ac.in), Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology and Medical Education, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, INDIA. To cite: Govindraj L, Santhosh S, Sunish SC, Gopalakrishnan AV, Chandy SJ, Oommen V, M Shanthi FX. Effectiveness of teaching medical ethics to medical students on an online platform: An analysis of students’ perceptions and feedback.  Indian J Med Ethics. 2023 Jan-Mar; 8(1) NS: 32- 38. DOI: 10.20529/IJME.2022.034 Published online on May 20, 2022. Manuscript Editor: Mala Ramanathan Peer Reviewers: Tarun Bhatnagar and Jissa VT Copyright and license © Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2022: Open Access and Distributed under the Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits only non-commercial and non-modified sharing in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. RESEARCHARTICLE Effectiveness of teaching medical ethics to medical students on an online platform: An analysis of students’ perceptions and feedback LAXMI GOVINDRAJ, SAMUEL SANTHOSH, SERIN CHERUVATHOOR SUNISH, ABINAYA VANNAPATTI GOPALAKRISHNAN, SUJITH J CHANDY, VINAY OOMMEN, MARGARET SHANTHI FX ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Medical ethics education along with attitude and  communication training has been incorporated into the regular  MBBS curriculum in India from 2019, so as to encourage a caring  and communicative approach by doctors towards patients. It  would be important to understand the relevance of the  educational module in the form of cases to ensure an optimal  learning process for future students and doctors in the making.  We selected three cases and conducted online debates among  small groups of second year MBBS students. Students submitted  narratives and their reflections after discussing each case and  gave overall feedback. Our findings suggested that the students  recognised the complexity of taking decisions when presented  with ethical dilemmas and appreciated the opportunity to voice  opposing views. The online platform was effective and may be  considered in the future as a medium to help integrate  discussions on medical ethics alongside clinical work. Keywords: medical ethics, medical education, student debate,  online learning Introduction Over the past few decades, the attitude towards doctors in India has changed from that of respect and reverence to one of suspicion and hostility. Violence and lawsuits against doctors, and doctors dying by suicide have been growing at an alarming rate [1–5]. Some of the reasons for this are poor work environment, long working hours due to inadequate resource allocation, negative perceptions about doctors among the public, and inadequate communication by doctors [5]. There are also reports of corruption and illegal dual practice by doctors in recent years, which are highlighted by the media [6,7]. All these threaten to result in a breakdown of trust in the doctor-patient relationship, which can only be rebuilt if clinical expertise is coupled with ethical commitment and social accountability [8]. Strengthening communication and training in ethics is an intervention proposed to improve this and reduce disillusionment among both patients and doctors [5,6]. Medical ethics education has been an integral part of the curriculum in the USA and Europe since the 1970s [9] and is now a priority in most countries [10, 11]. In addition to the “hidden curriculum” that was traditionally expected to impart ethics to a medical student, there is consensus that formal training as part of the regular medical curriculum is desirable. In keeping with this, the Medical Council of India (MCI), [now, the National Medical Commission (NMC)], has reformed its approach to medical education by introducing competency-based education and Attitude, Ethics and Communication (AETCOM) training [12] in the medical undergraduate curriculum in India since 2019. An AETCOM module [12] designed by the MCI for this purpose divides ethics training into chapters to be imparted throughout the years of medical training. This step is commendable and would introduce the concept of ethics and the importance of communication before forming habits during early patient contact. However, even in countries with a regular ethics programme, there is no gold standard for pedagogical methods or evaluation strategy, and concerns remain that the discipline is covered sub-optimally [13 – 16]. The need of the hour is, therefore, to identify an optimal approach for medical students to apply their minds to ethical issues and practice good communication with their patients. The AETCOM module may fill this need. However, it would be important to explore the students’ perceptions and attitude while participating in the AETCOM module so that the outcome with students can be optimised.