Definition of character for medical education based on expert opinions in Korea

Abstract

Purpose: As a follow-up study, it focused on 3 overarching questions: first, what kind of keywords can be extracted from the experts’ definitions of character?; second, what is the operational definition of character for medical students?; and third, what are the possible solutions suggested to the issues of character education that were found in the previous study? Methods: Sixty-three medical education experts through expert sampling method and an addition of 19 non-medical education experts through snowball sampling method answered the questionnaire. It consisted of 3 major questions of the study. The responses were analyzed for descriptive statistics with supplementary keyword extraction tools including Cortical and Monkey keyword extractor. Results: A total of 93 statements of definition were counted, and a total of 138 keyword terms were extracted. The top 5 keyword terms mentioned by the medical education experts were 'patient', 'empathy', 'qualities', 'attitude', and 'ability'. These keyword terms were quite different from the keywords mentioned by the non-medical education expert group. Based on the extracted keywords, an operational definition of character education by the medical education expert group was presented as follows: The basic qualities and ability to empathize with the patient's illness based on respect for patients and others. Various methods were proposed to solve the issue of character education, and many of them pointed to curriculum development, such as improvement of teaching and learning methods and evaluation methods, including role modeling.Conclusion: A clear statement of the concept of character education is the start to resolve issues of character education. Character education improvements will be possible at the institutional level according to the above results.

Medical students’ self-evaluation of character, and method of character education

“…We first conducted a study on 'Definition of character for medical education based on expert opinions in Korea' [ 29 ], in which we employed a qualitative analysis method through Delphi to identify eight elements of character that must be cultivated in medical students. As an extension of this series of studies, this study intended to investigate medical students' perceptions of the eight character elements revealed by previous studies.…”

Management of Strengthening Character Education in Junior High School

“…They play a vital role in shaping the future human resources of a nation. In fact, teachers are considered the second most influential individuals in a child's life, after parents, when it comes to education and guidance towards their educational and life aspirations (Hur, 2021). Given the significant impact teachers have on student performance, it is essential for them to possess a high level of dedication and to view teaching as a full-time profession.…”

The role of mentoring, supervision, coaching, teaching and instruction on professional identity formation: a systematic scoping review

“…However it does appear that within the socialisation process the mentoring umbrella provides physicians in training with personalised, responsive, appropriate and timely support as they confront ethical, cultural, philosophical, religious and social issues that conflict with their Innate, Individual, Relational and Societal values, beliefs and principles. Here, coaching’s ability to observe [ 65 , 67 ], listen deeply [ 65 ], keenly question (218), evaluate and identify gaps [ 68 ], explore solutions [ 65 , 66 , 69 ], provide specific and concrete feedback [ 67 , 68 ], support reflection [ 65 , 66 , 69 ], set goals [ 69 ], develop a comprehensive study plan [ 69 ] and hold the individual accountable [ 68 ] helps focus efforts on particular areas of identity inculcation, career readiness [ 185 ], remediation of professional identities and character education [ 186 ]. Critically, coaching and supervision provide this help whilst being sensitive to the learner’s wellbeing, and goals [ 66 ].…”