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Virtues in dentistry: Courage and justice

BDJ In Practice volume 37, pages 10–11 (2024)Cite this article

The two virtues I have chosen for the last of this series asking the question ‘How virtuous are you?' are linked together as well as underpinning many of the other virtues described in earlier articles. Courage and justice are two virtues that come into play when professionals need to resist institutional pressures. Those pressures can undermine professional responsibility, accountability and placing the interests of our patients first. Resisting such pressures takes resilience and the practical wisdom to stand up and say ‘this is not right!'. They also come into play when we need to advocate for patients when we see something that places patients in harm's way.

This might seem to be a strange virtue for dental professionals to display. One that we can think about a little. To have courage or to display courage means being able to do something that frightens us, to be brave. Having courage pushes us to get out of our comfort zone, to stand up and be counted, not to turn away and to get involved. An important precursor to courage is believing in yourself.

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References

  1. Aristotle. The Ethics of Aristotle: The Nichomachean Ethics trans. J. Thomson, introduction J. London: Penguin Books, 1964.

  2. Report of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust Public Inquiry: executive summary. HC947, 2013.

  3. General Dental Council. Standards for the Dental Team. Available online at: www.gdc-uk.org (accessed November 2023).

  4. MacIntyre A. After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory. 2nd ed. London: Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd, 1985.

  5. Beauchamp T and Childress J. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 5th ed. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

  6. Aristotle. The Nichomachean Ethics of Aristotle, trans. Sir D. Ross, London: Oxford University Press, 1954.

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  1. Dental Coaching and Training Consultancy, Northampton, United Kingdom

    Janine Brooks

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  1. Janine Brooks
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Correspondence to Janine Brooks.

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Brooks, J. Virtues in dentistry: Courage and justice. BDJ In Pract 37, 10–11 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-023-2260-y

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