The ethical dimension of Higher Education in Dentistry: a study in Brazil

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. The university's mission is training professionals-citizens who must be autonomous, responsible, wholehearted and prudent people. However, the technical-professional training has been the emphasis of the contemporary university rather than a humanistic training. In biomedical areas, such imbalance seems to be even greater. Therefore, the objective was to understand how the ethical dimension of Higher Education in Dentistry has been developed. METHOD. A qualitative research was conducted with Brazilian dental schools. The first stage of data collection through questionnaires sought to outline the situation and selected two dental schools for further research. In the second stage and through documentary analysis, it was possible to know factors of the formal curriculum that could influence the ethical dimension of the educational process. Finally, there was a focus on factors present in the hidden curriculum by using semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, direct observations of academic activities, and focus groups with students. Data were triangulated and analyzed through the Thematic Content Analysis. RESULTS. Most dental schools have a punctual commitment to the ethical dimension of education since they carry out isolated, limited, unintentional and planned actions. The professional models, labor market, power relationships, university life care, ways of conceiving ethics, and paternalistic clinical-academic model of relationships are the main factors that influence the educational, ethical dimension of future dentists. DISCUSSION. Professors need to be attentive and prepared to perform their ethical-pedagogical task, which requires a reflection on the meeting between teachers and students’ meetings, the university’s role, and the type of community the school constitutes.