Teaching medical ethics to experienced staff: participants, teachers and method
- Lund University, Sweden, Burlo Garofolo Children's Hospital, Trieste, Italy and National Research Council, Pisa, Italy respectively
Abstract
Almost all articles on education in medical ethics present proposals for or describe experiences of teaching students in different health professions. Since experienced staff also need such education, the purpose of this paper is to exemplify and discuss educational approaches that may be used after graduation. As an example we describe the experiences with a five-day European residential course on ethics for neonatal intensive care personnel. In this multidisciplinary course, using a case-based approach, the aim was to enhance the participants' understanding of ethical principles and their relevance to clinical and research activities. Our conclusion is that working with realistic cases encourages practising nurses and physicians to apply their previous knowledge and new concepts learnt in the course, thus helping them to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Footnotes
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Tore Nilstun, PhD is Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Ethics, Lund University, Sweden. Marina Cuttini, MD, MPH, PhD, is a Neonatologist and Epidemiologist in the Unit of Neonatal Intensive Care and Unit of Epidemiology, Burlo Garofolo Children's Hospital, Trieste, Italy. Rodolfo Saracci, MD, is Professor of Epidemiology in the Division of Epidemiology, IFC, National Research Council, Pisa, Italy.
