The teaching of bioethics in medicine courses in Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: Scientific, technological, and social progress in different areas of knowledge, notably in biological sciences and health care, causes the emergence of moral conflicts in medicine and boosts the relevance of Bioethics regarding new interfaces in the doctor-patient relationship, raising the need to increase ethical training during medical graduation.
Objective: The objective of this study was to verify the offer of curricular contents that deal with the content of Bioethics in the curricular matrices of undergraduate Medicine courses in Brazil.
Method: This is a documentary study. The curricular matrices of each course were analyzed, investigating information about the provision of a curricular component or the presence of curricular contents with Bioethics content in the matrix. When present, the workload, cycle and modality (if associated, isolated, throughout the course, in other subjects or optional).
Result: It turned out that Bioethics is offered by 61.85% of courses, with the majority offering it in the basic cycle, associated with another curricular component, with an average of 53 hours. Courses in the southern region offer the curricular component in a higher percentage and with a greater number of hours.
Conclusion: It is concluded that the teaching of Bioethics, despite its importance, is still not offered by all courses in Brazil, contradicting the national curricular guidelines of the Ministry of Education and UNESCO recommendations.