Education framework and experiences in bioethics: 3 meeting of the group of professors of Bioethics in Dentistry of ABENO (original) (raw)

The importance of Bioethics for the ethical-humanistic improvement of dentists is widely recognized. However, professor training limited to Dentistry implies significant problems for this interdisciplinary theoretical-philosophical reflection course. In this context, a group of professors of Bioethics in Dentistry was created within the scope of the Brazilian Association of Dental Education in 2017. Two years later, the group met for the third time to share education references and experiences. The purpose of this article is to expand the scope of that debate to professors who were unable to attend. The Core Curriculum is initially presented, based on the principles of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. It is a pedagogical proposal from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for teaching Bioethics, which can be adopted in undergraduate programs in Dentistry in a comprehensive or complementary manner. Subsequently, the experience of teaching Bioethics that has been developed at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina is presented, based on a comparison of the elements that structure the teaching plans of the undergraduate and graduate programs. Likewise, the proposals defend teaching in one's own course; the indispensability of professor training in Bioethics; the consideration of its interdisciplinary nature; the expansion of the theoretical framework far beyond Principialism, seeking appropriate frameworks and themes relevant to each social context and each educational level; the centrality of the teaching-learning process for the student, fostering his/her critical-reflexive humanistic competence; and the commitment to the ethical training of students by the entire faculty.