J Korean Med Assoc.  2017 Jan;60(1):24-31. 10.5124/jkma.2017.60.1.24.

Graduate and postgraduate medical ethics education

• Yoo SH
• Joo YS
• Lee SH

• KMID: 2367726
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2017.60.1.24

Abstract

This article provides an overview of medical ethics education for practicing doctors in Korea, focusing on its aims, objectives, content, pedagogical methods, educators, and key issues and challenges for future development. Education on medical ethics for practicing doctors in Korea started relatively recently on a small scale, based on the initiative of a few specialty boards. Currently, no formal aims and objectives for medical ethics education for practicing doctors have been proposed, and no formalized curricula have been developed by any specialty boards or by the Korean Medical Association. In the educational programs that currently exist, lectures are the predominant teaching method, and only a few educators who are doctors specializing in medical ethics deliver all those lectures. Thus, there are many issues and challenges in the Korean medical environment that must be thoroughly investigated and overcome. Nevertheless, medical ethics is an integral part of the medical profession and should be taught at all levels of training, including undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate.

Keyword

Ethics, medical; Ethics, professional; Education, medical ethics; Graduate; Postgraduate

MeSH Terms

Curriculum
Education*
Ethics, Medical*
Ethics, Professional
Korea
Lectures
Specialty Boards
Teaching

Reference

1. Yoo SH. Medical professionalism. Department of Medical History and Medical Humanities, Seoul National University College of Medicine. Clinical ethics. Seoul: Seoul National University Press;2014. p. 35–48.

2. Cruess RL, Cruess SR. Expectations and obligations: professionalism and medicine's social contract with society. Perspect Biol Med. 2008; 51:579–598.

3. Cruess SR, Johnston S, Cruess RL. Professionalism for medicine: opportunities and obligations. Med J Aust. 2002; 177:208–211.

4. British Medical Association. Medical ethics today: the BMA's handbook of ethics and the law. 3rd ed. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons;2012.

5. Carrese JA, McDonald EL, Moon M, Taylor HA, Khaira K, Catherine Beach M, Hughes MT. Everyday ethics in internal medicine resident clinic: an opportunity to teach. Med Educ. 2011; 45:712–721.

6. Rushton CH, Boss R, Hallett K, Hensel J, Humphrey GB, Les J, Mack C, McCammon S, Murray JS, Nathanson E, Pniewski J, Shuham AM, Volpe RL. The many faces of moral distress among clinicians. Narrat Inq Bioeth. 2013; 3:89–93.

7. Chang HJ, Lee YM, Lee YH, Kwon HJ. Investigation of unethical and unprofessional behavior in Korean residency train-ing. Teach Learn Med. 2015; 27:370–378.

8. Seo EK. The Catholic Medical Center, medical ethics educa-tion for new resident training. Rapportian;2013. 01. 17. 2016 Nov 10. Available from: http://www.rapportian.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=9916.

9. Korean Association of Internal Medicine. Case book on medical ethics for residents in internal medicine [Internet]. Seoul: Korean Association of Internal Medicine;2015. cited 2016 Nov 10. Available from: http://www.kaim.or.kr/ethics/?sn=3.

10. Korean Association of Internal Medicine. Cyber ethics education for residents in internal medicine [Internet]. Seoul: Korean Association of Internal Medicine;2016. cited 2016 Nov 10. Available from: http://ainedu.co.kr/kaim/cp1_0.html.

11. Korean Academy of Family Medicine. Educational objectives and training requirements for residency. Seoul: Korean Academy of Family Medicine;2016.

12. Yi IB. Introduced ethical subject to board examination. Medical Times;2016. 04. 26. cited 2016 Nov 10. Available from: http://www.medicaltimes.com/News/1104253.

13. Yi SW. Warm doctors who are filled with ethical concerns. Young Doctor;2010. 10. 04. cited 2016 Nov 10. Available from: http://www.docdocdoc.co.kr/90484.

14. Kim SY. First medical ethics education, The Korean Society of Otorhinolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery. Dailymedi;2014. 10. 08. cited 2016 Nov 10. Available from: https://www.dailymedi.com/detail.php?number=785175.

15. Korean Medical Association. Continuous medical education-related regulations and guidelines. Seoul: Korean Medical Association;2015.

16. Choi S. Ministry of health and welfare plans to make medical ethics education mandatory in next year. MedicalTimes;2016. 02. 22. cited 2016 Nov 10. Available from: http://www.medicaltimes.com/News/1102733.

17. Texas Medical Board. Continuing medical education for MDs/DOs [Internet]. Austin: Texas Medical Board;cited 2016 Nov 10. Available from: http://www.tmb.state.tx.us/page/resources-cme-for-md-dos.

18. Carrese JA, Malek J, Watson K, Lehmann LS, Green MJ, McCullough LB, Geller G, Braddock CH 3rd, Doukas DJ. The essential role of medical ethics education in achieving professionalism: the Romanell Report. Acad Med. 2015; 90:744–752.

19. Doukas DJ, McCullough LB, Wear S. Project to Rebalance and Integrate Medical Education (PRIME) Investigators. Perspective: medical education in medical ethics and humanities as the foundation for developing medical professionalism. Acad Med. 2012; 87:334–341.

20. Ahn D; Working Group for Project on the Future Global Role of The Doctor in Health Care. Korean doctor's role. J Korean Med Assoc. 2014; 57:3–7.

21. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. ACGME outcome project: advancing education in medical professionalism. Chicago: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education;2004.

22. Korean Society for Medical Ethics. Medical ethics for residents. Seoul: Koonja Publication;2011.

23. McDougall R. Combating junior doctors' “4am logic”: a challenge for medical ethics education. J Med Ethics. 2009; 35:203–206.

24. Levine RJ. Some reflections on postgraduate medical ethics education. Ethics Behav. 1997; 7:15–26.

25. Eckles RE, Meslin EM, Gaffney M, Helft PR. Medical ethics education: where are we? where should we be going? a review. Acad Med. 2005; 80:1143–1152.

26. Dingle AD, Stuber ML. Ethics education. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2008; 17:187–207.

27. Siegler M. A legacy of Osler. Teaching clinical ethics at the bedside. JAMA. 1978; 239:951–956.

28. Bliss M. William Osler: a life in medicine. New York: Oxford University Press;1999.

29. Sokol DK. William Osler and the jubjub of ethics; or how to teach medical ethics in the 21st century. J R Soc Med. 2007; 100:544–546.

30. Hebert PC, Meslin EM, Dunn EV. Measuring the ethical sensitivity of medical students: a study at the University of Toronto. J Med Ethics. 1992; 18:142–147.

31. Hojat M, Vergare MJ, Maxwell K, Brainard G, Herrine SK, Isenberg GA, Veloski J, Gonnella JS. The devil is in the third year: a longitudinal study of erosion of empathy in medical school. Acad Med. 2009; 84:1182–1191.

32. Armstrong E, Parsa-Parsi R. How can physicians' learning styles drive educational planning? Acad Med. 2005; 80:680–684.

33. Mann KV. Thinking about learning: implications for principle-based professional education. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2002; 22:69–76.

34. Puliyel MM, Puliyel JM, Puliyel U. Drawing on adult learning theory to teach personal and professional values. Med Teach. 1999; 21:513–515.

35. Hafferty FW, Franks R. The hidden curriculum, ethics teaching, and the structure of medical education. Acad Med. 1994; 69:861–871.

36. Choi EK, Chang KH, Kim SY, Kwon I, Kim OJ. Ethics educa-tion in medical schools in Korea: current status and problems concerning teachers, materials, and methodologies. Korean J Med Ethics Educ. 2006; 9:44–59.