Teaching biopsycho-ethical medicine in a family practice clerkship

The practice of medicine is inescapably value-laden. Principles, norms, and commitments are the goals which determine the specific decisions and actions of care-givers, patients, and families. Therefore, a disciplined understanding of human values is an essential complement to the biomedical and psychosocial components of clinical training. For medical students to acquire such understanding calls for a biopsycho-ethical model for medical education. Building on a review of medical ethics teaching, the authors describe a method of systematically integrating value analysis into a family practice clerkship. By combining interdisciplinary seminars with clinical experience, both the rigor and relevance of value analysis are maximized. The specific educational and evaluational objectives and strategies are presented for a course in biopsycho-ethical education.