5. What is professionalism ? ? ?
Embraces a set of attitudes, skills and behaviors,
attributes and values which are expected from
those to whom society has extended the privilege
of being considered a Professional.
6. What is professionalism ? ? ?
All definitions Include elements:
nowledge and skills.
he highest standards of ethical
and professional behavior.
social (moral) contract
(a fiduciary relationship).
9. What is professionalism ? ? ?
All definitions Include elements:
nowledge and skills.
he highest standards of ethical
and professional behavior.
social (moral) contract
(a fiduciary relationship).
14. The term "professionalism" encompasses a reaffirmation of the values and behaviors of physicians.
The concept of professionalism first emerged in the early 1990’s in the United States as a response to the many challenges facing the health care system. Managed largely by independent Health Maintenance Organizations, HMOs,
the provision of health care had increasingly become a business. As a result of this for-profit health care market, the very core of medicine was felt to be eroding. Evolving trends in medical care favored cost-effectiveness and
efficacy and, as expected, had adversely affected certain aspects of the medical profession. The term "professionalism" arose out of the desire to reaffirm humanistic qualities, qualities such as compassion and altruism, back into the
medical world. As such, professionalism developed out of the necessity to reinforce sound ethical principles within the medical community.
In the United States, the American Board of Internal Medicine (2) and the American Association of Medical Colleges (1) developed documents asserting that the values of the medical profession, including humanistic values, needed
to be taught to medical students and residents in training.
By the mid 1990's, the concept of "professionalism" began to surface in medical schools across Canada and the United States. The importance of including professionalism in the curriculum became increasingly apparent in light of the
challenges facing medical education (such as the increasing diversity of the medical student population) and health care in general. Although the term "professionalism" seems to have emerged out of the dichotomy between
private HMOs and the millions of uninsured Americans, the ideals of professionalism have existed for centuries.
An extensive literature has accompanied this increased emphasis on Professionalism in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and elsewhere. How to 'teach' and evaluate Professionalism has become a topic of extensive
interest within medical education conferences.
15.
16. The Core Values of Professionalism
Honesty and
Integrity
Altruism
Respect
Responsibility
and
Accountability
Compassion
and Empathy
Dedication and
Self-
improvement
23. Professionalism & Medicine
Professionalism embodies the relationship between medicine and society as it forms the
basis of patient-physician trust.
25. Professionalism & Medical Students
"The hardest conviction to get into the mind of a beginner is that the education upon
which [he/she] is engaged is not a college course, not a medieval course, but a life
course, for which the work of a few years under teachers is but a preparation." [Osler, (5)]
26. It is a COMMON SENSE!
As medical students, understanding the values and attributes expected of physicians will
remain most imperative throughout one’s career. Caring for patients that are ill demands
compassion, competence, and sound ethical values, and there is no better time to foster
the values of the medical profession than the beginning of the journey.
28. Respect for professors, preceptors, and peers
Respect for guest speakers and visiting patients
Respect for cadavers and anatomical specimens in the anatomy lab
Respect for the institution of which you are a part
Respect for patients and their families at clinical encounters
Respect for patient confidentiality
Respect for all members of the health care team
Respect for administrative and support staff
Respect for the core values of professionalism
30. As noted by Sir William Osler, it takes
time, effort, and dedication to live
according to an ideal: this is perhaps the
single most important obligation
medical students have to both society
and to the profession.
33. References.
1. American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). Project Professionalism <http://www.abim.org/pdf/profess.pdf>. Accessed 2 Aug 2007.
2. Cruess SR, Cruess RL. Professionalism: A contract between medicine and society. CMAJ. 2000;162:673-675.
3. Cruess SR. Professionalism and medicine’s social contract with society. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2006;449:170-176.
4. Lawrence W. Is our level of professionalism where it should be? Bull Am Coll Surg. 2004;89(6):21-25.
5. Roland CG, ed. Sir William Osler 1849-1919: A selection for medical students. Toronto, Canada: The Hannah Institute for the History of
Medicine; 1982.
6. Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The 2005 CanMEDS Physician Competency Framework
< http://www.royalcollege.ca/portal/page/portal/rc/common/documents/
canmeds/resources/publications/framework_full_e.pdf >. Accessed July 2007.
7. Silverman ME, Murray TJ, Bryan CS, eds. The Quotable Osler. Philadelphia: American College of Physicians; 2003.
8. Swick HM. Toward a normative definition of medical professionalism. Acad Med. 2000;75:612-616.
9. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary. Ethics <http://www.tabers.com/tabersonline/ub/view/Tabers/143340/46/ethics?q=Ethics >.
Accessed 1 Aug 2007.
10. The Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada. The Healer and the Professional in Society, Drs Richard and Sylvia Cruess
<http://www.afmc.ca/pdf/2006_may_01_hart_award.ppt>. Accessed July 2007.
11. UOttawa Faculty of Medicine. Medical Professionalism: Summary Report of the Professionalism Review Committee. December 2006.
12. World Health Organization (WHO). Interfaces between bioethics and the empirical social sciences
<http://www.paho.org/English/BIO/interfaces.pdf>. Accessed 1 Aug 2007.
Editor's Notes
The question of where medical students fit in the greater picture of professionalism is important to understanding how best to instill the values of professionalism into new graduates. Although one’s interpretation of professionalism can vary depending on the stage of training, from medical student to resident and eventually to staff physician, its actual meaning remains unchanged.