Developing capability for ethical courage in clinical workplaces

Practice-based education is an essential component of professional education yet in such education there is often a predominant focus on the development of technically competent health professionals, which may come at the expense of promoting ethical development and professionalism. Qualities such as moral competency and ethical courage are necessary for facilitating a practitioner’s ability to question taken-for-granted traditions in the field and importantly to undertake ethical actions. Silencing of the importance of development of practitioner qualities poses a risk to the ongoing evolution of health professions.In this chapter we build on the contention that practitioner qualities such as moral competency and ethical courage are integral to meeting the complex and fluid needs of 21st century healthcare practice. The concepts of moral competency and ethical courage are explored and strategies for the development of students’ moral competency and ethical courage are presented.