The Role, Modality, and Ethos of Ethics and Professionalism Instruction in Predoctoral Dental Programs

PURPOSE: It is critical for oral health professionals to value careful decision-making and thoughtful reflection about their patient care and role in advancing the profession. Dental programs are obligated to play a substantive role in facilitating ethical dialogs to prepare clinicians for future practice. We aim to determine how the current Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) Standard on Ethics and Professionalism instruction (2-21) is being interpreted within predoctoral dental programs and investigate recommendations for ethics instructors. METHODS: A Qualtrics survey was designed to gain information about content, integration, and delivery of ethics and professionalism instruction. This survey was completed by faculty members across twenty-four CODA-accredited dental programs. Quantitative data was compiled for comparison while qualitative data was analyzed via inductive coding with a standardized codebook developed based on relevant themes. RESULTS: While many similarities exist between modalities used for ethics instruction by various programs, there was variability in integration, content, and attitudes relevant to teaching outcomes. CONCLUSION: Curricular efforts dedicated to ethics and professionalism and assessment strategies to determine graduate-level mastery are variable in quality and quantity amongst surveyed programs. Interprofessional approaches to ethics content delivery are emerging, and additional data is needed to assess its impact on clinical outcomes. Targeted recommendations include investing in learning opportunities that require active engagement to encourage personal reflection and developing a dedicated network of support and collaboration for dental ethics course directors to expedite exchange of best practices for instruction, evaluation, and promotion of student engagement.