Dear Colleagues who took the TOT training through IBCT: please, stick to the IBCT standards. Now to the details. I am in a certain place these days taking an advanced workshop on how to train teachers on how to teach bioethics. So the workshop is mainly a TOT workshop.
As happened in IBCT training, each one of us (the trainees) was given a topic and asked to give a micro training session in 10 minutes. My topic was yesterday about “introducing new drugs”. I stuck to the tools we took in IBCT training.
First I gave them the title and asked them how introducing a new drug can lead to an ethical dilemma. A good lady said that the new drug may have not been tested for safety.Another said that it should have been tried first, and so on. I distributed a case, gave two minutes for reading, asked someone to summarize it.
The dilemma in the case was that though the drug was tested and badly needed, as there was an epidemic that killed tens of people daily, though the producing factory agreed to distribute it free for 5 years, the government declined to have it widely distributed claiming that its potential future hazards are not known before.
After reading the case, I led the discussion in a way so as to find who sides with the strict use of the drug and who sides with the wide availability and who are hesitant. I asked the people who side with the first opinion (group a) to sit facing the other group (called b) and made the three hesitant people (the jury).
I decided to use the debating tool. For shortage of time, I asked each group to prepare ONLY two strong arguments why they think what they think. I explained the procedure: group A will give an argument that B has to refute, and vice versa. Then the same with argument 2, and the jury in the end have to decide who gave the strongest arguments.
I cannot describe to you how lively the session was, how everyone wanted to give a saying, how some colleagues even wanted to add a third argument. I explained to them that we have to stick to the time. The feedback by the trainers of the workshop was that they were fascinated by what I gave,
my actions, my use of body language, (I am using their own words, I am not judging my performance). The trainees were very happy with the session. The trainer told me that if he knew I would give it in such an enjoyable way, he would not have given me only 10 minutes, but would give me more because he was so happy with my performance.
I told them this is not my creation, these are the IBCT standards and way of training. One of my colleagues told me on my way home: “Bahaa, you made it very difficult for all of us who did not give their sessions to present. What better than we give?” I was about to answer: Go and ask IBCT.
Dear Colleagues: please, stick to the IBCT standards. They are magical in the outcome.