Ethics education for dermatology residents

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada both require the teaching and demonstration of general competencies, which include professionalism and ethics as a condition of training program accreditation and specialty certification, respectively. Residents in dermatology and other specialties perceive their training in ethics is inadequate in numerous areas. Residents and specialists in dermatology encounter numerous ethical and professional issues throughout their workday. A dermatoethics curriculum was developed at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in 2001 to address the need for training in bioethics and professionalism. The subject matter of the curriculum and didactic methods are reviewed. Guidelines for effective teaching of ethics and professionalism to dermatology residents are presented. It is important to make the teaching sessions relevant to the residents' day-to-day work experiences and personal needs. Honesty and openness on the part of faculty and trainees is important. Although informality fosters such exchanges, the sessions should be a learning experience. Resources outside the residency program should be used as necessary. Evaluation of ethics and professionalism in trainees is addressed.