Strengthening Ethics, Humanity, Law, and Professionalism in Healthcare: HELP Bioethics Course Batch 7 Series 1

Yogyakarta, 26 March 2025 — The Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities (CBMH), Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Universitas Gadjah Mada, successfully organized the HELP Bioethics Course (Humanity–Ethics–Legal–Professionalism) Batch 7 Series 1, conducted online via Zoom from 17–26 March 2025. This series carried the theme “The Basic Understanding of Bioethics” and was attended by 44 participants from various institutions and faculties of medicine across Indonesia.

Participants consisted of lecturers, healthcare practitioners, and policymakers who share a strong commitment to integrating ethics, humanity, law, and professionalism within the healthcare system. Throughout the eight-day program, participants engaged in intensive theoretical sessions and in-depth discussions covering the foundations of bioethics, the relationship between ethics and law, ethical theories such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, as well as issues related to professionalism and justice in medical practice.

Adopting a transdisciplinary approach, the course also explored the contributions of anthropology, religion, and social sciences in shaping bioethical understanding within Indonesia’s diverse sociocultural context. The presence of distinguished speakers from national and international institutions, including Harvard Medical School and Amsterdam UMC, enriched participants’ global and local perspectives on ethical and moral challenges in contemporary healthcare.

The HELP Course is part of CBMH UGM’s ongoing commitment to supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions). By fostering ethical awareness, moral reflection, and professional attitudes in decision-making, this program is expected to contribute to the development of healthcare professionals who are not only clinically competent, but also firmly grounded in human dignity and social justice.

Through this program, CBMH UGM reaffirms its role as a platform for learning and knowledge-sharing in bioethics and medical humanities. The HELP Course supports participants’ personal and professional growth while contributing to the creation of a healthcare system that is more equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and respectful of human dignity.

Editor: Rafi