Building Moral Communities? First, Do No Harm

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Partnered Research: Revisiting the Sequestration Thesis and the Role of Universities in Promoting Social Justice

As universities increasingly rely on external sources of research funding, researchers worldwide are realizing that if their work is financially supported by organizations with distinct political or financial interests, they risk their careers if their results deviate from the interests of their funding partners. This article presents a case that illustrates how ugly this situation can become. Reviewing the literature on the advantages and dangers of partnered research, the historical role of universities, funding trends, and university mission statements, the authors contend that universities must engage in service learning and participatory action research, but must ensure that faculty members engaging in academic activity with partners—whether industry, hospitals, governments, nongovernmental organizations, or communities—have their professional integrity protected. If doubt exists about whether the partner can or will honor these principles or the mission of universities for social good, universities should avoid granting joint or affiliate appointments or accepting funds or favors of any kind. Universities also need formal structures to ensure ethical application of innovation and principled partnership engagement. In becoming servants of government or corporatism, universities have become less vital to society and are failing in their mission to promote social justice and sustainability. Strong measures are needed to restore public trust.

Nurturing social responsibility through community service-learning: Lessons learned from a pilot project

BACKGROUND

Community service-learning (CSL) has been proposed as one way to enrich medical and dental students' sense of social responsibility toward people who are marginalized in society.

AIM

We developed and implemented a new CSL option in the integrated medical/dental curriculum and assessed its educational impact.

METHODS

Focus groups, individual open-ended interviews, and a survey were used to assess dental students', faculty tutors' and community partners' experiences with CSL.

RESULTS

CSL enabled a deeper appreciation for the vulnerabilities that people who are marginalized experience; students gained a greater insight into the social determinants of health and the related importance of community engagement; and they developed useful skills in health promotion project planning, implementation and evaluation. Community partners and faculty tutors indicated that equal partnership, greater collaboration, and a participatory approach to course development are essential to sustainability in CSL.

CONCLUSIONS

CSL can play an important role in nurturing a purposeful sense of social responsibility among future practitioners. Our study enabled the implementation of an innovative longitudinal course (professionalism and community service) in all 4 years of the dental curriculum.