Remedial ethics programs for physicians and dentists

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Professional Education

Background:

• Programs for ethics remediation emerged from societal concerns regarding professional accountability in the 1960s.
• Two key programs include Bebeau's for dentists and ProBE for physicians and health professionals.

Discussion:

• ProBE is shorter, focusing on individual ethical violations and using "tensions" for insight.
• Bebeau's program is more generic, theoretically based on the Rest model, and adaptable to predoctoral education.
• ProBE utilizes a multidisciplinary coaching team and does not rely on pre/post-course gain scores.

Key Insights:

• ProBE addresses specific ethical lapses with a focus on individual insight.
• Bebeau's model offers a broader, theory-based approach suitable for foundational ethics education.
• Differences lie in duration, focus (individual vs. general), theoretical grounding, and assessment methods.

Outlook:

• Further research could explore the comparative effectiveness of these distinct remediation models.
• Adapting Bebeau's generic model for predoctoral training may enhance early ethical development.
• Investigating the long-term impact of ProBE's targeted approach on professional conduct is warranted.