FIMA Year Book 2009 - Federation of Islamic Medical Associations

Ethical Issuesmake him a living example of all thathis Creator loves, free from all thatAllah hates, well saturated with the loveof Almighty Allah, of people and ofknowledge. (16)There is not a better way to translatethe theoretical aspects of medical ethicsthan to prepare an ethically motivateddoctor. Medical ethics is not an essentialpart of medical curricula of most ofthe universities and medical schools.The learning behaviors and modalitiesof imparting medical educationneed certain ethical boundaries.These ethical boundaries are verywell drawn by the Islamic educationsystem. In the framework of goodeducational methodologies, certainresponsibilities lie on the educationalsystem, curriculum, teachers,students, learning environmentand pedagogical methodologies.This list is never exhausted andneeds continuous upgradationand modification according to theemerging requirements. Teachingand training of medical students toupbring good Muslim doctors is theprime responsibility of all those whoare involved in medical educationprograms and their implementation.The knowledge and expertise whicha Muslim medical practitioner oracademician acquires is a bounty ofAllah (SWT) and he/she will be askedabout all bounties bestowed to him/her. Imparting obsolete knowledge andtraining doctors through outmodedmethodology does not match thedemands of taqwa (God fearing).Achieving excellence in academia isthe prime responsibility of a Muslimmedical teacher. “The reward of everyexcellence is excellence” (17) Inferiorquality of medical training andeducation at under or postgraduatelevels is a deviation from Islamicteachings. In the history of Islam,Muslim medical teachers always kepttheir students with them during theirpractice hours. They used to learn andacquire the behaviors of their teachersand used to follow what they learndirectly from their teachers. At thesame time they were researchers andinnovators thus contributing directlyto the progress of medical knowledgeand expertise. Ethical dimensions ofmedical education commence rightfrom the time of selection of thestudents to train them as medicaldoctor or for post graduate residencyprograms.The selection criteria in MedicalSchoolThe selection and training of medicalstudents should emphasize serviceswithin the Islamic system of mutualsocial support. During the selectionprocess the main emphasis shouldbe that we are selecting leaders ofthe future, whose moral values andattitudes should be a role model for thesociety. A medical institution shouldaim to train physicians who must beable to conduct research to extend thefrontiers of knowledge. The processof training at undergraduate and postgraduate levels must motivate theFIMA YearBook 200987