objectives: To gather empirical data on how gender and educational level influence bioethical reasoning among medical students by analysing their use of care versus justice arguments for reconciling a bioethical dilemma. setting: University Departments of Medical Ethics, Social and Communication Psychology in Germany. Participants: First and fifth year medical students. Design and method: Multidisciplinary, empirical, 2-segment study of ethics in action: In intrapersonal Segment 1, the students

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... were presented with a bioethical dilemma and then administered a 13-item questionnaire to survey their individual preferences for care versus justice arguments in resolving the conflict. The survey questioned 6 justice, 6 care-related items and 1 socially critical item. Data were analysed by gender and year of medical school. In interpersonal Segment 2, the bioethical dilemma from Segment 1 was discussed in gender-mixed and gender-homogeneous groups. Coded transcripts were evaluated to identify prevalences in care versus justice reasoning. Results: Data on 462 medical students were evaluable (n=338 in Segment 1, n=168 in 1