Human resource empowerment is considered as one of the main strategies to achieve resources with appropriate competencies to lead the process of organizational change. [26]. Teacher development programs aim to improve professional knowledge and skills to adapt to growing changes; the training and development of faculty members play a valuable role in balancing professional knowledge and skills [27]. Research shows that lack of knowledge and awareness of medical ethics is a significant challenge leading to unethical practices [28, 29].
In the current study, teaching skills were identified as a core competency for faculty members in medical ethics education. Creating educational opportunities is at the expense of empowering faculty members who can teach medical ethics in proactive ways and in alignment with the topics of their field. In addition, for integrated teaching of medical ethics, faculty members should teach professional behavior to students in various educational opportunities through courses, as well as act as role models [30]. The role of medical teachers as role models for students is necessary to teach professional and ethical behavior [11, 31]. In Bligh’s study and others.the following core competencies are considered necessary for medical teachers: teaching skills, effective communication skills, professionalism, expertise and role modeling [32].
Research and scholarship in medical ethics are considered core competencies for faculty members in this study. In our study, faculty members must be competent to design and conduct high-quality original research, developmental and prescriptive research. In this category, a set of outputs is required, mainly related to setting research priorities, designing methodology, implementing, applying and disseminating results, as well as evidence-based practice in the field of medical ethics. The fellowship emphasizes encouraging the participation of faculty members in the development of their innovative practice in medical ethics. Thomas (2003) recommends that providing professional incentives that value scholarship in medical ethics, even when it is not a faculty member’s primary research area, is necessary to encourage scholarly activities in medical ethics [33]. In this study, in addition to the research skills to generate research on medical ethics, the ability for scholarship to research interventions to solve ethical dilemmas and challenges, and the ability to make informed decisions to choose the best professional practice at work were emphasized. place.
Effective communication skills with various stakeholders to implement and teach medical ethics at an interpersonal and team level was identified as another core competency in the current study. According to our findings, in order to convey ethical values and beliefs to medical students in all three domains of knowledge, attitude and behavior and to institutionalize medical ethics in the health care system, medical teachers must have effective high-level communication skills [34].
According to the present study, moral reasoning and policy making, decision making, and ethical leadership are other core competencies for faculty members in medical ethics, which other studies define as a multidimensional skill consisting of individual and organizational competencies [35]. Despite the importance of acquiring moral reasoning competence, evidence shows a lack of moral reasoning approaches among medical graduates when working with patients [36]. The ability to think morally is necessary for the development of professionalism in various dimensions [37]. In this regard, educational interventions such as providing faculty development programs to improve role modeling and feedback from faculty members can be suggested to positively influence students’ moral development. [38]. Policy-making, decision-making, and ethical leadership competencies are not only used to resolve ethical conflicts created in the educational system, along with communication skills, but also to guide policies and procedures for evaluating educational opportunities that include such abilities in educational programs are necessary [39]. Furthermore, based on our findings, the competency to manage organizational ethics in health care did not gain the necessary votes to be considered a core competency because participants interpreted it as a management ability at different levels in medical schools.
To apply the competencies in practice and in the workplace, EPAs should be used in the competency-based curriculum. EPAs translate core medical education competencies related to required tasks and duties [40]. Faculty members’ views on the EPA indicated that most of the tasks, with the exception of two items assigned to faculty members after attending medical ethics faculty development programs, received substantial ratings in terms of necessity and relevance to the core competencies . These two items were as follows: “Making decisions about resource allocation” and “Managing and directing planning activities in the field of medical ethics.” These two items are likely due to the direct role of managers and educational administrators in promoting them in organizational level, are less important in the professional duties of faculty members. According to the findings, the moral reasoning competency score was equal to or higher than 70% of those of other 11 EPAs, indicating the importance of this competency and the need for let’s look at it further; meanwhile, in existing studies, this competence and the tools to measure it have been discussed [40, 41].
The EPA studies required of faculty members in the field of medical ethics were not adequate, while such studies were required to conduct practical and educational courses for faculty development programs. In addition, the participation of various experts from the departments of clinical and medical ethics and educational administrators in this study, especially those who had research or activities in the field of medical ethics, was valuable in obtaining different perspectives of stakeholders. In addition, a multi-stage method along with quantitative and qualitative research methods helped to explain the research topic. As a limitation, few articles addressed medical ethics curricula or the assignments of medical ethics faculty members. Another limitation is the need to change the perspective of the concept of EPA qualification for teachers before starting their teaching, which was difficult to define during the study by the participants.