Introduction:

The practice of medicine requires moral competence, in addition to technical competence. In medical training, professors are jointly responsible for presenting values intrinsic to human rights and for mediating the development of attitudes, motivation, and practices, as well as serving as a model for young apprentices.

Development:

Educating on values does not mean that teachers can choose the values be followed by students. Moral competence understood as the ability to judge and make decisions according to internal principles is a skill, more than a simple attitude, which can and should be built throughout life. Thus, moral education/training must be understood as a process that leads the subject to reflect on everyday situations, involving moral dilemmas. The future professional has the opportunity to become aware of the uniqueness of each situation in the face of decisions and evaluations, as well as being responsible for the choices made and their consequences. For the development of moral competence in training processes, in addition to transmitting information, teachers must expand reflection on social and ethical commitment and seek the formation of autonomous, critical, and participatory citizens. Believing that only the teacher’s example can promote moral development restricts the issue to its affective aspects, ignoring the cognitive aspects of moral education, and thereby favoring the approach and handling of moral conflicts throughout academic and professional life.

Conclusion:

Moral values should no longer be imposed by external agents, but rather become internal guidelines, legitimized by the person, developed through a critical, responsible, autonomous, and creative reflection of each subject. More than learning theories or discussing great philosophers, students should be touched to spark feelings and attitudes that lead them to value humanistic and humanitarian convictions and to adopt fair, empathetic behavior as essential elements of good medical practice, thus becoming morally competent.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )