Quality Improvement Strategies of Medical Ethics Education in Korea / 한양의대학술지

ABSTRACT

In the past twenty years, medical ethics has emerged as a priority within medical schools in Korea. This article contains important messages about the general overviews and current status, such as the educator, teaching method, and goals of medical ethics education in medical schools. The author suggests ideas of improvement and qualification of the medical ethics education in Korea. There are two points of view regarding the purpose of teaching medical ethics (1) that it is a means of creating virtuous physicians; and (2) that it is a means of providing physicians with a skill set for analyzing and resolving ethical dilemmas. The field would benefit from further theoretical work aimed at better delineating the core content, core processes, and core skills relevant to the ethical practice of medicine. They are in agreement that a multidiciplinary team of ethicist-philosophers and physicians should teach medical ethics, and ethics education should be integrated longitudinally throughout the 4 years of medical school. Within a few decades the number of Korean medical schools requiring medical ethics has increased in volume. Further progress in ethics education may depend on medical schools' willingness to devote more curricular time and funding to medical ethics for faculty development and resources.