Reform in medical ethics curriculum: a step by step approach based on available resources
-
Fariba Asghari
,
Azim Mirzazadeh
,
Aniseh Samadi
,
Aliakbar Nejati Safa
,
Ali Jafarian
,
Ali Vasheghani Farahani
,
Seyed Hasan Emami Razavi
Abstract
In this project, we aimed to revise the medical ethics curriculum at the School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, in order to promote the level of students' ethical awareness and enable them to make ethical decisions.
Ideal and long term educational objectives were set to determine directions for future reforms and to provide a baseline for future evaluation of the project. However, based on limited available recourses, the first stage of the reform was planned and implemented with a 3 years scope. In revising the curriculum, which was done according to the Harden's ten questions, we focused on moral attitude and ethical reasoning skill in addition to academic knowledge base by using methods such as case discussions, portfolio, and clinical ethics rounds. The revised curriculum was implemented during the first semester of the 2006-2007 academic year for the first time.
The student feedback indicated that the new curriculum was successful in increasing the students' awareness of ethical issues and enabled them to understand and accept their professional obligations.
Revising the curriculum and its evaluation should be considered as an ongoing process. The present project was a successful experience that motivated faculty members to pursue the next steps of improving the curriculum on medical ethics and proved to be convincing for the authorities and policy makers to support it.
Core Committee, Institute for International Medical Education. Global minimum essential requirements in medical education. Med Teach 2002; 24(2):130-5.
Larijani B. Health Care Professional and Ethical Issues. Tehran: Baraye Farda; 2004.
Asghari F. Interns' Evaluation of Ethics Education Efficiency. Proceedings of the 7th National Congress of Medical Education; 2005 Dec 14-16; Tabriz, Iran. Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Press; 2005.
Harden RM. Ten questions to ask when planning a course or curriculum. Med Educ 1986; 20(4): 356-65.
Ayatollahi SMT, Heydari Z, Hagh Shenas H, Ayatollahi SAR. Patients satisfaction from their consultant physicians in Shiraz. J Kerman University Med Sci 1999; 3(6): 165-72.
Nobakht Haghighi A, Zali MR, Mahdavi MS, Norouzi A. A survey of the causes of patients' complaints against attending physicians upon arrival at the Medical Council of Tehran. J Med Council Islamic Republic Iran 1998; 4(18): 295-303.
Rangraz jeddi F, Rabiee R. A study on the attitude of physicians and nurses of Kashan hospitals about the charter of patients' right, 2003. J Kashan University Med Sci 2003; 24(9): 62-71.
Roudpeyma Sh, Sadeghian N, Khalighi Monfared M, et al. Surveying the outpatient service in Taleghani hospital; are patients satisfied? J Shaheed Beheshti University Med Sci Health Services 2001; 3(27): 209-15.
Toobaei Sh, Dehbozorgi GR. Patient's expectations from internists, psychiatrists and surgeons. J Hormozgan University Med Sci 2002; 1(8): 41-7.
Mohamadi M, Mohamadi F, Hejrani B, et al. Physicians and their professional problems in Iran. Tehran: Homaye Salamat Publication; 2005.
Asghari F. Prevalence of Ethical Issues in Daily Practice as an Educational Needs Assessment. Proceedings of the 7th National Congress of Medical Education; 2005 Dec 14-16; Tabriz, Iran. Tabriz University of Medical Sciences Press; 2005.
Anonymous.Teaching medical ethics and law within medical education: a model for the UK core curriculum. J Med Ethics 1998; 24(3): 188-92.
Braunack-Mayer AJ, Gillam LH, Vance EF, et al. An ethics core curriculum for Australasian medical Schools. Med J Aust 2001; 175(4): 205-10.
Lehmann LS, Kasoff WS, Koch P, Federman DD. A survey of medical ethics education at U.S. and Canadian medical schools. Acad Med 2004; 79(7): 682-9.
Miyasaka M, Akabayashi A, Kai I, Ohi G. An international survey of medical ethics curricula in Asia. J Med Ethics 1999; 25(6): 514-21.
Fryer-Edwards K, Wilkins MD, Baernstein A, Braddock CH. Bringing ethics education to the clinical years: ward ethics sessions at the University of Washington. Acad Med 2006; 81(7): 626-31.
Gross ML. Medical ethics education: to what ends? J Eval Clin Pract 2001; 7(4): 387-97.
Mattick K, Bligh J. Teaching and assessing medical ethics: where are we now? J Med Ethics 2006; 32(3): 181-5.
Asghari F, Samadi A, Dormohammadi T. Effectiveness of the course of medical ethics for undergraduate medical students. J Med Ethics Hist Med 2009; 2:7.
Stephenson A, Higgs R, Sugarman J. Teaching professional development in medical schools. Lancet 2001; 357(9259): 867-70.
Cohen JJ. Professionalism in medical education, an American perspective: from evidence to accountability. Med Educ 2006; 40(7): 607-17.
Howe A. Professional development in undergraduate medical curricula--the key to the door of a new culture? Med Educ 2002; 36(4): 353-9.
Sivalingam N. Teaching and learning of professionalism in medical schools. Ann Acad Med Singapore 2004; 33(6): 706-10.
Maheux B, Beaudoin C, Berkson L, Cote L, Des Marchais J, Jean P. Medical faculty as humanistic physicians and teachers: the perceptions of students at innovative and traditional medical schools. Med Educ 2000; 34(8): 630-4.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 4 (2011) | |
| Section | Articles | |
| Keywords | ||
| Curriculum, Medical ethics, Undergraduate medical education. | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
