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From dilemma to development: practicing Ethics through peer discussion in family medicine

Boaz HASID, Yael GILLERMAN and Hanny YESHUA

Family medicine is grounded in long-term relationships, continuity of care, and a deep understanding of patients within their family and community contexts. These defining features frequently give rise to ethical dilemmas that are complex, relational, and shaped by uncertainty rather than clear-cut rules. Family doctors are required to balance competing values over time. Recognizing that many of these challenges cannot be resolved through guidelines alone, this workshop offers group-based ethical reflection as a practical and core professional developmental tool in family medicine.The workshop has three main objectives: 1. To strengthen participants’ ability to identify and articulate ethical dilemmas arising in everyday family medicine. 2. To provide hands-on training – individually and in small groups – using real clinical cases, fostering both individual ethical reasoning and constructive feedback from peers. 3. To demonstrate how regular engagement with ethical case discussion supports professional development, resilience, and reflective practice for family doctors.The workshop uses experiential and peer-based learning methods consistent with family medicine education: 1. Conceptual framing of ethical dilemmas in family medicine (10 minutes) 2. Individual engagement with a real clinical case (10 minutes) 3. Facilitated small peer-group discussion and structured feedback (20 minutes) 4. Plenary discussion on the role of peer reflection in sustaining ethical practice of family medicine, professional identity and development (20 minutes)Participants will gain a practical understanding of group-based ethical reflection as a tool for ethical competence and professional betterment in family medicine. The workshop will also serve as a refresher in applied medical ethics, emphasizing reflective practice rather than prescriptive solutions.The workshop conceptualizes ethical competence in family medicine as a skill that must be continuously developed through collective practice rather than a static body of knowledge. Engaging with ethical dilemmas through peer reflection supports the development of mature, reflective, and resilient family physicians, capable of navigating uncertainty while maintaining continuity, compassion, and professional integrity.