A model for clinical ethics education in otolaryngology residency

Contemporary surgical practice is inextricably linked to the practice of clinical medical ethics. The Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in its development of core competencies has recently recognized this association for resident physicians. Included in these competencies is professionalism, and a key component of the professionalism competency is ethics education.;This thesis will begin with a brief historical overview of medical ethics education in medical schools and surgical residencies. I will then report and analyze the results of a nationwide survey of all US otolaryngology residency program directors designed to assess the current status of ethics education in otolaryngology training programs. The second chapter of the thesis will describe the development and presentation of a pilot program in clinical surgical ethics education for the otolaryngology residents at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in 2011-2012. The third chapter of the thesis will describe an ongoing virtue ethics journal club during the 2012-2013 academic year developed to discuss and nurture topics relevant to the character development of otolaryngology residents. The last chapter will reflect on the development of this ethics education program, assess its strengths and weakness and offer some personal reflections on the program.