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Teaching Bioethics Internationally: Benefits, Limitations, and Opportunities

July 14, 2007
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Bioethics issues and instruction are of increasing interest, not only in the United States, but in many other nations.  This is resulting in numerous opportunities to teach bioethics internationally.  Interestingly as the West is increasingly turning away from Hippocratic medicine toward a business model, developing countries are seeking bioethics training to increase the practice of Hippocratic values, such as compassion.  Benefits of teaching bioethics internationally include the opportunity to present and examine different worldviews and their implications, helping others understand their often unconscious presuppositions, presenting the Hippocratic model to many unfamiliar with it, assisting colleagues to establish codes of ethics and ethical guidelines, and modeling ethical practices and Christ’s compassion when given the opportunity for direct interaction with patients.  Cross-cultural differences can hinder communication of bioethical concepts from one language and culture to another.  This is often exacerbated by the difficulty of finding translators familiar with bioethical terms and concepts.  In addition, each culture must translate bioethical values and concepts into acceptable practices and explanations within their cultural milieu.  Opportunities to teach bioethics internationally abound.  Numerous countries desire bioethical presentations as part of international teaching programs.  Some nations and international colleagues are setting up bioethics and/or worldview oriented conferences and desire international speakers to participate.  Overseas colleagues may request assistance in articulating Hippocratic values and/or explaining current bioethical issues to their medical leaders and coworkers.  Teaching bioethics internationally is a challenging, but rewarding opportunity to use one’s training and experience to advance bioethical education and thoughtful consideration of bioethical issues in other nations.

Keywords:
bioethics, education, medical ethics