Bioethical-Communicative Judgments Across Training Years: Cross-Year Evidence from Uzbek Medical Education

Whether bioethical-communicative judgments vary across stages of medical education remains underexplored in Central Asian contexts. This pilot cross-sectional study examined scenario-based judgments among 100 undergraduate medical students from six year groups and seven universities in Uzbekistan using a purpose-designed six-scenario Situational Judgment Test (SJT). Five Likert-format scenarios were analysed separately, with S4 and S5 reverse-coded only for directional consistency, while S6 used a forced-choice format. After Holm correction, significant year-group differences remained for patient autonomy and consent (S3: H(5) = 28.89, p < .001, ε² = .254), comprehension verification (S4: H(5) = 14.52, p = .038, ε² = .101), and emotional responsiveness (S5: H(5) = 18.72, p = .009, ε² = .146), but not for prognosis disclosure or hierarchical challenge. In Year 1 versus Years 2–6 comparisons, Year 1 students rated S2 and S3 higher, whereas Years 2–6 rated S4 and S5 higher; S1 did not differ significantly. S6 responses were divided among refusal, acceptance, and compromise. Overall, cross-year variation was domain-specific and bidirectional. Given the cross-sectional design, unequal group sizes, and exploratory instrument, the findings should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating rather than causal. They identify domains warranting further longitudinal, qualitative, and behaviourally validated investigation within Uzbek medical education settings.