The department of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics was established at the Faculty of Medicine of Hacettepe University in 1998. Prof. Dr. Erdem Aydın is our founding chairman. He had served as head of the department until his retirement in April 18, 2011.

Prof. Dr. Nüket Örnek Büken joined our academic staff in 2001. Then, respectively Lecturer Dr. Müge Demir (2008), Asst. Prof. Dr. Önder İlgili (2016) and Dr. Şükrü Keleş (2016) joined our academic staff.

After the establishment of our department, courses of History of Medicine and Medical Ethics have begun to be given 10 hours per week for the first 3 years.

One of the fundamental components of the Good Medical Practice, which has started in the 2004-2005 academic year and has a vertical program for the first three years, is “Professional Values and Ethics”.

With the transition to the Bologna process in the 2012-2013 academic year, there have been a couple of changes in the program which will take place in the 2013-2014 academic year: the number of the required courses have been decreased; elective courses and internships have been added.

The aim of the program is to ensure that the students acknowledge the patient-centered values of the traditional medicine; realize the problems that aroused and may arise in healthcare caused by the technology which improves through research and debate; take a part in the solution of ethical conflicts with an active relationship with all related party.

To achieve these goals, students are expected to comprehend the medical values and evolution of the identity of the physician throughout the history with “History of Medicine” courses in the first year; and to acknowledge the relationship between the basic concepts, theories and principles of bioethics and their impact on the healthcare of the patients with “Ethics of Medicine” courses in the second year. In the third year, it is expected from students to define the ethical issues and problems that are common in the medical applications and researches in all stages of life; to comprehend the ethical values that are needed to be protected; and to comprehend appropriate solution methods.

With these basics provided by the department in the pre-clinic period, with the two-hour courses in surgical internship in the 4th semester it is aimed that the students will be able to analyze the ethical cases for ethical issues that might be faced with during the surgeries.

In the 2013-2014 academic year, the course of “Philosophy of Science and its History” has been added for the first year; course of “Physician Representations in Cinema” has been added for the second year; and the course of “Sharing of Medical Resources” has been added in the third year as elective courses.With the "Clinical Ethical Case Analysis" appended to 5th semester’s internships, students will be able to reinforce the knowledge they have acquired over the first four years through case studies and they will be able to apply ethical case analysis. In the "Research and Publication Ethics" internship and the "Clinical Ethics" internship given in the 5th semester, students are aimed to pay regard to basic ethical principles and responsibilities of the researcher in their own researches and publications, as well as to become experienced in making an ethics committee application and to acquire clinical ethical problem solving skills.