Teaching ethics in dentistry

This paper describes a curriculum project designed to help dental students identify, reason about, and adequately resolve ethical problems in their chosen profession. The project involved application of a theoretical approach to the study of ethical development that had not been applied previously in professional education. Tests were designed to measure the abilities defined by the theory and used to evaluate the program and to monitor student progress. To date, studies of student abilities and attitudes clearly indicate that the curriculum is needed. Learning activities, created to promote the abilities, are based on studies of the real-life ethical problems confronting dentists and dental students. A program of research and development has been established to study the influence of this curriculum on the abilities defined, and to link them to clinical performance. Half of the dental schools in the United States have requested these materials. Suggestions are made to professional schools considering expanding the teaching of ethics.

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