Aisha Y Malik*, Mervyn Conroy, Catherine Hale, Chris Turner
Background: Medical practitioners and academics are calling for an alternative process to following clinical guidelines that takes the particularities of the context into account. We argue that the concept of the phronesis virtue when encapsulated in a non-guideline based educational programme provides a way to navigate the complexity and variety of patient cases and arrive at ethically wise decisions. The foundational research of the resource used in the programmes, Phronesis and the Medical community (PMC), sought narratives from doctors on what making ethically wise decisions means to them. What emerged is a ‘collective practical wisdom’ resource in the form of a film series and app. This paper provides a thematic evaluation that indicates that when this resource is integrated into education on ethical decision-making, participants apply their learning to a phronetic approach to decision-making practice.
Methods: Two main questions were asked: 1) Do these resources in educational or Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programmes support practitioners in cultivating practical wisdom?; 2) What is the experience of educational providers and medical practitioners when using these resources to enhance ethical decision-making?
Results: The findings provide answers to those questions under two main themes: 1) Impact on practice; 2) Impact on education.
Conclusion: The implications are that the resource and associated dialogical learning approach can be employed by medical educators and practitioners with confidence that they will make a difference to practice. The wider implications are that other professions can benefit from this resource through bespoke application.
