The aim of this paper was to overview the major challenges in bioethics education as well as to analyze its development perspectives in Lithuania.

The paper discusses the actual implementation of a variety of curricular goals, adequate teaching methods and evaluation criteria in bioethics. It also reveals the development of the bioethics syllabus and its relation to the changing competence and skill requirements in medical education. The paper reflects the content of bioethics teaching programs at different study levels by illustrating international experience. A broader understanding of bioethics education in relation to other disciplines of medical humanities (such as philosophy of medicine, ethics, sociology or anthropology) and their integration into medical education are emphasized. Some specific challenges of integration of bioethics education into Lithuanian medical education are discussed.

Conclusions. We suppose that the future of bioethics education should be based not merely on the development of practical competences, but also on maintaining its humanitarian mission to encourage students’ critical thinking and moral sensitivity.