Asst Professor of Bioethics & Professionalism Mercer University School of Medicine Macon, Georgia
Abstract: Standardly, undergraduate medical education is designed to prepare students to recall and apply vast amounts of scientific knowledge to medical problems and to use the technologies of the modern healthcare system. This educational program is meticulously designed to achieve specific learning goals in preparation for national exams and residency applications. In its efficiency, it promotes a consumerist mindset among students, limits independent exploration and uncertainty, reduces “problems” to physiological complaints in written cases (even in ethics education), and standardizes professionalism through low-level behavioral rules and compliance checklists. And it’s stressing our students out! Importantly for ethics educators, it’s paralyzing our students when they’re finally faced with wicked problems and the possibility of taking real moral risks. To combat this, I will draw on the pedagogical resources aimed at developing independent, free-thinking, imaginative students who can identify salient moral reasons to act under constraints and in response to complex (or wicked) problems. These resources have been largely developed for parents, K-12 educators, and college professors, rather than medical educators. These resources will help me reframe some goals of ethics education in undergraduate medical education through a focus on preparing resilient, creative, and critical thinkers, who are not just capable of arriving at the right answer but who feel empowered to identify and discuss the conditions that make a complex problem emotionally fraught, who feel motivated to contribute to a solution (even if only an imperfect or “good-enough” one), and who can articulate a clear justification for their actions.
Keywords: medical education, professionalism, moral agency
Learning Objectives:
After participating in this conference, attendees should be able to:
To identify the shortcomings of undergraduate medical education (especially in terms of ethics education and professionalism training) in preparing students for dealing with complex or wicked problems
To explore pedagogical and parenting resources aimed at helping children and adolescents develop resiliency, creative and critical thinking skills, and moral agency
To identify new learning objectives and possible classroom exercises or assignments for medical ethics educators and professionalism mentors aiming to prepare medical students for complex or wicked problems
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