Teaching Ethics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Vignette-Based Curriculum

Authors

Arden D. Dingle, The University of Texas Rio Grande ValleyFollow
Sandra DeJong
Vishal Madaan
Lee Ascherman

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-17-2016

Abstract

Introduction: Ethics is an integral component of child and adolescent psychiatry. While ethics can seem abstract or philosophical, its tenets are fundamental to the practice of medicine. Understanding relevant ethical principles shapes how practitioners make decisions in all activities, including clinical, administrative, research, and scholarly.

Methods: Using the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Code of Ethics as the framework, these vignettes serve as stimulus material to help teach the ethical principles relevant to child and adolescent psychiatry practice. Each vignette briefly describes a clinical situation in practice, followed by questions and possible appropriate responses. The teacher's guide includes a discussion of the relevant ethical principles and perspectives on how to think about the issues involved. A supplementary overview of ethical issues in child and adolescent psychiatry and a list of resources are also provided.

Results: We and other child and adolescent psychiatrists have used this curriculum at professional organizational meetings, in residency programs, and in teaching medical students with positive learner responses.

Discussion: This curriculum was developed by members of the AACAP Ethics Committee with input from the entire committee in an effort to produce material that was easy to use and provided valuable content about an essential aspect of practice that is relevant to all practitioners at all levels. While designed for child and adolescent psychiatrists, the content is relevant to all physicians working with children, adolescents, and families.

Comments

© 2016 Dingle et al.

Recommended Citation

Dingle, A., DeJong, S., Madaan, V., & Ascherman, L. (2016). Teaching Ethics in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Vignette-Based Curriculum. MedEdPORTAL : the journal of teaching and learning resources, 12, 10418. https://doi.org/10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10418

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Publication Title

MedEdPORTAL

DOI

10.15766/mep_2374-8265.10418

Academic Level

faculty

Mentor/PI Department

Psychiatry