Background: The evaluation of moral judgment criteria in medical students is important to develop effective educational programs in bioethics.
Aim: To compare priority judgment criteria and moral judgment tendency in medical students of first and fifth grade.
Material and methods: The Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ30), to identify moral criteria was applied to 259 students, 63.7% from first year and 50.2% women.
Results: The dominant moral tendency both in first and fifth year students was liberal. Justice and compassion were the most important criteria in men and in women, respectively. Respect towards authority and sanctity were the least important criteria in women and men, respectively.
Conclusions: The implications for moral psychology and medical education of these results are discussed.