2020, Vol.23, No.2

Korean Journal of Medical Ethics 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.21

pISSN : 2005-8284 / eISSN : 2234-3598
https://journal.kci.go.kr/medethics

Purpose: To identify the core competencies of medical ethics for the Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE). Methods: A literature review was conducted to determine the domains and details of the core competencies of medical ethics. A Delphi survey was then used to confirm these core competencies. The survey was conducted twice, using online Google Forms sent to selected medical ethics experts. The indices of core competencies were grouped into three categories: patient-doctor relationship, relationship between the healthcare sector and society, and individual field of expertise. Each category was further divided into three levels: sub-category, component, and definition of index. The questionnaire included the importance of the individual index as a core competency of medical ethics for the KMLE. The results were evaluated on a 4-point Likert scale. Results: The first Delphi questionnaire was sent to 36 willing participants, of whom 23 responded (response rate: 64%). The second Delphi survey was conducted with 23 respondents from the first survey, of whom 16 responded (response rate: 70%). To verify the importance and validity of the definition of index as a core competency of medical ethics, the medians and content validity ratios (CVR) were calculated and used to identify the core competencies of medical ethics for KMLE. Conclusion: Based on the above results, 3 categories, 17 sub-categories, 30 components, and 62 index definitions were identified as required core competencies of medical ethics for KMLE.

This article explores the identity of modern dental hygiene through an examination of the history of oral hygiene. Until the 18th century, the cleansing of one’s mouth was done mainly to remove halitosis or whiten teeth. Prior to the advent of ‘dental hygiene,’ types of behavior that could be considered as acts of oral hygiene were driven by instinctive and preference-oriented demands of individuals and cultures. The view that proper dental hygiene, including the removal of dental calculus and food debris, could be helpful in preventing dental diseases arose only after the invention of the microscope and the discovery of oral microbiome. ‘Mouth Cleaning,’ which had usually been done by barbers and barber-surgeons until the 18th century, evolved into dental hygiene services, including ‘tooth brushing instruction (TBI),’ ‘gum management,’ or ‘scaling’ based on scientific evidence. Although science was instrumental in making preventive dentistry the main function of modern dental hygiene, there is a lack of research on the historical and philosophical roots of the profession of dental hygiene. This article contributes to this new line of research by providing narrative accounts of oral hygiene from a social and cultural perspective. It is hoped that this research will help to shape a new paradigm for dental hygiene.