A Roadmap to Medical Professionalism

Author(s):  
Gia Merlo

Medical professionalism is more than a demonstration of individual competencies. Becoming a member of the medical profession is not only about passing a set of milestones but also about embodying the values, behaviors, and identity of a physician through a process of professional identity formation. The major frameworks for medical professionalism, the process of professionalization, and the importance of socialization in medicine are discussed. The reader is encouraged to reflect on who they are and who they want to become. Thus, this chapter provides a roadmap to medical professionalism. Physicians have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of their patients and embrace lifelong learning.

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Schweller ◽  
Diego L. Ribeiro ◽  
Sílvia R. Passeri ◽  
Jamiro S. Wanderley ◽  
Marco Antonio Carvalho-Filho

ABSTRACT In general, students have few opportunities to address their emotions under the guidance of an experienced physician, which can undermine their self-confidence to deal with real patients in stressful situations. Emotional detachment and cynicism are defense mechanisms, which can emerge as a consequence. The consolidation of a professional identity committed to patients’ interests can become a challenge when medical students are not comfortable in their role as caregivers. In general, we consider that the undergraduate medical curriculum has been insufficient in providing appropriate environments for students to reflect on professional identity formation and on the future challenges of their profession. Objective: To develop an in-depth debriefing to address students’ emotions and professional identity formation in the context of a simulation activity with simulated patients at a medical school in Brazil. Methods: The authors conducted a simulated medical consultation activity using standardized patients (SPs) with an in-depth debriefing based on the feelings of the patient and the student. During each encounter the formation and consolidation of professional identity was discussed. Fourth- and sixth-year medical students (n=551) participated and answered a questionnaire about the activity and the learning outcome. Results: The students felt comfortable during the activity, due to "openness to dialogue", "proximity with colleagues and teachers" and the "judgment-free environment". More than 90% reported that what they had learned would be useful in their professional and personal lives, providing a greater "understanding of emotions", "empathy", "ability to listen" and "ability to deal with conflicts". More than half of them were motivated to study, especially "doctor-patient relationship", "treatment", "common diseases" and "medicine in general". Students considered the activity important for retrieving the initial reasons that had led them to embarking on the medical profession in the first place. Conclusions: Reflecting on disease and its impact on patients’ daily life may motivate learning in medicine, allowing for the recovery of the personal and social meaning of its practice. In-depth debriefing was important to nurture professional identity committed to empathy and patients’ interests. Activities planned to discuss the influence and importance of emotions in medical practice can help students to reconcile personal and professional identities.


Author(s):  
Shiva Sarraf-Yazdi ◽  
Yao Neng Teo ◽  
Ashley Ern Hui How ◽  
Yao Hao Teo ◽  
Sherill Goh ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Professional identity formation (PIF) in medical students is a multifactorial phenomenon, shaped by ways that clinical and non-clinical experiences, expectations and environmental factors merge with individual values, beliefs and obligations. The relationship between students’ evolving professional identity and self-identity or personhood remains ill-defined, making it challenging for medical schools to support PIF systematically and strategically. Primarily, to capture prevailing literature on PIF in medical school education, and secondarily, to ascertain how PIF influences on medical students may be viewed through the lens of the ring theory of personhood (RToP) and to identify ways that medical schools support PIF. Methods A systematic scoping review was conducted using the systematic evidence-based approach. Articles published between 1 January 2000 and 1 July 2020 related to PIF in medical students were searched using PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC and Scopus. Articles of all study designs (quantitative and qualitative), published or translated into English, were included. Concurrent thematic and directed content analyses were used to evaluate the data. Results A total of 10443 abstracts were identified, 272 full-text articles evaluated, and 76 articles included. Thematic and directed content analyses revealed similar themes and categories as follows: characteristics of PIF in relation to professionalism, role of socialization in PIF, PIF enablers and barriers, and medical school approaches to supporting PIF. Discussion PIF involves iterative construction, deconstruction and inculcation of professional beliefs, values and behaviours into a pre-existent identity. Through the lens of RToP, factors were elucidated that promote or hinder students’ identity development on individual, relational or societal levels. If inadequately or inappropriately supported, enabling factors become barriers to PIF. Medical schools employ an all-encompassing approach to support PIF, illuminating the need for distinct and deliberate longitudinal monitoring and mentoring to foster students’ balanced integration of personal and professional identities over time.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Mardiastuti H. Wahid ◽  
Ardi Findyartini ◽  
Diantha Soemantri ◽  
Rita Mustika ◽  
Estivana Felaza ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yayoi Shikama ◽  
Yasuko Chiba ◽  
Megumi Yasuda ◽  
Maham Stanyon ◽  
Koji Otani

Abstract Background Professional identity formation is nurtured through socialization, driven by interaction with role models, and supported through early clinical exposure (ECE) programmes. Non-healthcare professionals form part of the hospital community but are external to the culture of medicine, with their potential as role models unexplored. We employed text mining of student reflective assignments to explore the impact of socialization with non-healthcare professionals during ECE. Methods Assignments from 259 first-year medical students at Fukushima Medical University, Japan, underwent hierarchical cluster analysis. Interrelationships between the most-frequently-occurring words were analysed to create coding rules, which were applied to elucidate underlying themes. Results A shift in terms describing professional characteristics was detected, from “knowledge/skill” towards “pride [in one’s work]” and “responsibility”. Seven themes emerged: contribution of non-healthcare professionals, diversity of occupation, pride, responsibility, teamwork, patient care and gratitude. Students mentioning ‘contribution of non-healthcare professionals’ spoke of altruistic dedication and strong sense of purpose. These students expressed gratitude towards non-healthcare professionals for supporting clinical work, from a doctor’s perspective. Conclusion Socialization with non-healthcare professionals provides important insights into the hospital working environment and cultural working norms. Through role modelling altruism and responsibility, non-healthcare professionals positively influenced student professional identity formation, promoting self-conceptualisation as a doctor.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Nataly Rahimzadeh ◽  
David Lessard ◽  
Peter Nugus

Objective—This article provides a reflection on medical teaching opportunities for whole person care based on our experiences mentoring 2nd-year medical students through an Ethnography Practicum at a Canadian university.                                                                  Background—The Ethnography Practicum is a new addition to the Family Medicine Transition to Clinical Practice (TCP) curriculum introduced in the second year of medical school at McGill University. It involves 30 hours of instruction (6 hours in lectures with an instructor, and 24 hours in small-group tutorials with the authors), and 9 hours of fieldwork observations in various community health settings across Montreal, QC. The primary aims of the Practicum converge with those of the TCP generally in two important ways: to inculcate in students the concepts of patient centered care, and to promote family medicine as both an academic discipline and career option.                    Results and Discussion— Our experiences illustrate two tensions that shape students’ expectations and experiences throughout their involvement in the Practicum and, in turn, highlight the implications for teaching whole-person care. First, ethnography as a combination of different methods has itself been the locus of tensions between positivist and critical traditions in the three last decades. Second, the Practicum is situated precisely at the crossroads of key moments on the professional identity formation continuum for our students. Such a crossroads is disruptive to the status quo of medical traineeship characteristic of the first two years in medical school, and thus reorients professional identity formation. The above tensions reveal how ethnography is not only a revered research tradition in the humanities, but can also be a conduit to whole person care-inspired clinical practice.Conclusion—As instructors and mentors involved in this Ethnography Practicum, we are continually forging a new relevance for organizational ethnography in medical training, where medical students can reflect and act on competencies beyond clinical ones. The Practicum provides a space for students to wrestle with alternative epistemologies to understanding the social world in which medicine is embedded. We lastly provide pragmatic ways to better address these tensions in an effort to support students as they proceed through the (multifaceted) development of their professional identities as future physicians.


2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-184
Author(s):  
Edna R. Magpantay-Monroe ◽  
Ofa-Helotu Koka ◽  
Kamaile Aipa

Professional identity formation is essential to nursing education. Knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values help form nursing students’ identity. Professional identity is a process of becoming independent and having self-awareness of one’s educational journey (All Answers Ltd., 2018). Maranon and Pera (2015) described that the contrast between didactic and clinical learning may play a role in the ambiguity that initiates nursing students about professional identity. There is a gap in the current research literature and has been underexplored with no intentional plan to address new areas (Godfrey, 2020; Haghighat, Borhani, & Ranjbar, 2020). The goal of professional identity formation is to develop well-rounded students with moral competencies who will blossom into future nursing leaders (Haghighat et al., 2020). The benefit to the community of producing well-rounded nursing students is safety and quality in their actions. This descriptive paper will address examples of how professional identity may be achieved by nursing students’ participation in community engagement such as attendance to professional conferences and intentional mentoring.


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