Scoping review of bioethics training in medical schools worldwide:

Abstract

Numerous technological and behavioral innovations are regularly introduced into health sciences, this necessarily triggers ethical tensions between the stakeholders involved in the healthcare system, i.e. industry, healthcare professionals, teachers, researchers and patients. Vigorous basic training in ethics in medical faculties is therefore a universal value for tackling these evolving problems. However, there are significant differences in the curricular characteristics of medical schools around the world. The Objectives of the current work were to list the medical schools in the world that offer an integrated bioethics curriculum. To describe the differences between bioethics training programs to discuss the program to be implemented in Moroccan medical faculties. To do this, we conducted a Literature review using the scoping method where we included bioethics training taught in basic training curricula from 2007-2021. Publications in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese were searched. Keywords searched and borelian combinations used were the following: Bioethics curriculum AND ((medical schools Education) OR (Undergraduate Education OR Medical Students)). Document types searched: Systematic reviews, original articles and book chapters. The databases consulted were: Pubmed, Jstor, ScienceDirect, Springerlink. To identify training programs, we consulted the World Directory of Medical Schools (https://www.wdoms.org/). Data extraction and sorting were based on the PRISMA checklist, 2009. Data was grouped by language of instruction, years of subject teaching, hourly volume, and course content; type of course delivery and assessment method. 41 documents were included for analysis, including 22 original articles, six book chapters, seven systematic reviews, six letters to the editor. In 2019, 30% of medical schools had adopted the UNESCO Bioethics Core curriculum. Over 75% of the bioethics curricula examined had an average theoretical hourly volume of 30 hours. Practical application courses and workshops were not carried out systematically. The programs covered the human rights, the philosophical foundations of research ethics, the ethical review process, and end-of-life issues. Common skills taught included critical thinking and research methodology. In conclusion, bioethics training provided worldwide is distinct. The various models of bioethics training offered around the world have not been evaluated, which limits their transferability and reproducibility in other contexts. Nevertheless, the training program proposed by UNESCO constitutes an interesting basis, which could be supplemented by the provision of bioethics training linked to local and international issues. Mapping the types of ethics training offered around the world provides an evidence-based framework for rolling out standardized training that is relevant to the context of medical practice in Morocco.