scholarly journals Young Medical Doctors’ Perspectives on Professionalism: A Qualitative Study Conducted in Public Hospitals in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Jalil ◽  
Qaisar Khalid Mehmood ◽  
Florian Fischer

Abstract Background: Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions determining the competence of medical doctors. Poor professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the perspectives of young medical doctors on professionalism in Pakistan.Methods: A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors, aged less than 40 years, who had studied medicine in Pakistani universities, were Pakistani nationals, and were employed at various hierarchical levels, from house officer to consultant specialist, in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. Results: The data analysis revealed that rigidity of opinions, unacceptability of contrasting perspectives, false pride, and perceived superiority over other professions and patients were major components of poor medical professionalism. Most of the young doctors believed that there is no need to include professionalism and humanity course modules in the medical curriculum, because topics related to social sciences are deemed irrelevant to medicine and judged to be common sense. The doctors recognised good professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues and paramedics. Other factors contributing to poor medical professionalism included the use of social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing patients, substance use such as smoking cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays, lack of cooperation from paramedical staff, and inadequate role models. Conclusions: Poor medical professionalism among young doctors needs to be addressed by policymakers. There is a need to revisit the medical curriculum to strengthen professionalism. It is essential to develop the qualities of tolerance, teachability, and acceptance in doctors in order to facilitate interprofessional collaborations and avoid medical errors.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Jalil ◽  
Qaisar Khalid Mehmood ◽  
Florian Fischer

Abstract Background: Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions indicating the competence of medical doctors. A low professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the perspectives of young medical doctors on professionalism in Pakistan.Methods: A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors, aged less than 40 years, who studied medicine in Pakistani universities, were Pakistani nationals, and were employed at various hierarchal levels from house officer to consultant specialist in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. Results: The data analysis revealed that the rigidity of opinions, unacceptability of contrasting perspectives, false pride and perceived superiority over other professions and patients as major components of low medical professionalism. Most of the young doctors believed that there is no need to include professionalism and humanity course modules in the medical curriculum, because topics related to social sciences are deemed irrelevant to medicine and judged as common sense. The doctors recognised high professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues and paramedics. Other factors contributing to low medical professionalism included the use of social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing the patients, substance use such as cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays, lack of cooperation from the paramedical staff, inadequate role models and inappropriate salaries. Conclusions: Low medical professionalism among young doctors needs to be addressed by policymakers. Lack of training about professionalism, ethical service delivery, performance monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at public hospitals are contributing to substandard medical practice. There is a need to revisit the medical curriculum to strengthen professionalism. It is essential to develop the qualities of tolerance, teachability and acceptance in the doctors for facilitating interprofessional collaborations and avoiding medical errors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Jalil ◽  
Qaisar Khalid Mahmood ◽  
Florian Fischer

Abstract Background: Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions determining the competence of medical doctors. Poor professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the perspectives of young medical doctors on professionalism in Pakistan.Methods: A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors, aged less than 40 years, who had studied medicine in Pakistani universities, were Pakistani nationals, and were employed at various hierarchical levels, from house officer to consultant specialist, in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data.Results: The data analysis revealed that rigidity of opinions, unacceptability of contrasting perspectives, false pride, and perceived superiority over other professions and patients were major components of poor medical professionalism. Most of the young doctors believed that there is no need to include professionalism and humanity course modules in the medical curriculum, because topics related to social sciences are deemed irrelevant to medicine and judged to be common sense. The doctors recognised good professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues and paramedics. Other factors contributing to poor medical professionalism included the use of social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing patients, substance use such as smoking cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays, lack of cooperation from paramedical staff, and inadequate role models.Conclusions: Poor medical professionalism among young doctors needs to be addressed by policymakers. There is a need to revisit the medical curriculum to strengthen professionalism. It is essential to develop the qualities of tolerance, teachability, and acceptance in doctors in order to facilitate interprofessional collaborations and avoid medical errors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Jalil ◽  
Qaisar Khalid Mahmood ◽  
Florian Fischer

Abstract Background Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions determining the competence of medical doctors. Poor professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the perspectives of young medical doctors on professionalism in Pakistan. Methods A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors, aged less than 40 years, who had studied medicine in Pakistani universities, were Pakistani nationals, and were employed at various hierarchical levels, from house officer to consultant specialist, in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. Results The data analysis revealed that rigidity of opinions, unacceptability of contrasting perspectives, false pride, and perceived superiority over other professions and patients were major components of poor medical professionalism. Most of the young doctors believed that there is no need to include professionalism and humanity course modules in the medical curriculum, because topics related to social sciences are deemed irrelevant to medicine and judged to be common sense. The doctors recognised good professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues and paramedics. Other factors contributing to poor medical professionalism included the use of social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing patients, substance use such as smoking cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays, lack of cooperation from paramedical staff, and inadequate role models. Conclusions Poor medical professionalism among young doctors needs to be addressed by policymakers. There is a need to revisit the medical curriculum to strengthen professionalism. It is essential to develop the qualities of tolerance, teachability, and acceptance in doctors in order to facilitate interprofessional collaborations and avoid medical errors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Jalil ◽  
Qaisar Khalid Mehmood ◽  
Florian Fischer

Abstract Background: Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions indicating the competence of medical doctors. A low professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the perspectives of young medical doctors on professionalism in Pakistan.Methods: A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors, aged less than 40 years, who studied medicine in Pakistani universities, were Pakistani nationals, and were employed at various hierarchal levels from house officer to consultant specialist in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data. Results: The data analysis revealed a rigidity of opinions, inflexibility blocking the acceptance of contrasting perspectives, and perceived superiority over all other professions and over patients. The belief that patients know nothing was common among all participants. Similarly, doctors believed that there is no need to include a professionalism and humanity course in the medical school curriculum. The majority of respondents thought that social science topics are irrelevant to medicine and are common-sense things that they already know. The doctors recognised high professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues. The reported characteristics include using social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing patients, substance use such as cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays and inappropriate salaries. Conclusions: Findings implied low medical professionalism among young doctors. This should be immediately addressed by policymakers. Lack of training about professionalism, ethics and humanity in healthcare service delivery, and a lack of performance monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at public hospitals are the major factors contributing to this substandard medical practice. There is a need to revisit the curriculum taught to medical students in order to strengthen professionalism. It is important to improve the skills of being ‘teachable’ and to provide acceptance of other viewpoints in cases where interprofessional collaborations are to be established by medical doctors.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Jalil ◽  
Qaisar Khali Mehmood ◽  
Florian Fischer

Abstract Background: Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions indicating the competence of medical doctors. A decline in professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the patterns of declining professionalism among young medical doctors in Pakistan.Methods: A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors aged less than 40 years who were employed at various levels from house officer to consultant specialist in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Thematic content analysis was applied to analyse the data. Results: The data analysis revealed a rigidity of opinions, inflexibility blocking the acceptance of contrasting perspectives, and perceived superiority over all other professions and over patients. The belief that patients know nothing was common among all participants. Similarly, doctors believed that there is no need to include a professionalism and humanity course in the medical school curriculum. The majority of respondents thought that social science topics are irrelevant to medicine and are common-sense things that they already know. The doctors recognised high professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues. The reported characteristics include using social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing patients, substance use such as cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays and inappropriate salaries. Conclusions: It seems that professionalism has declined among young doctors, and this should be immediately addressed by policymakers. The lack of training about ethics and healthcare service delivery, and a lack of performance monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at public hospitals are the major factors contributing to declining professionalism. There is a need to revisit the curriculum taught to medical students in order to strengthen professionalism.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisha Jalil ◽  
Qaisar Khalid Mehmood ◽  
Florian Fischer

Abstract Background: Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions indicating the competence of medical doctors. A decline in professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the patterns of declining professionalism among young medical doctors in Pakistan.Methods: A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors aged less than 40 years who were employed at various levels from house officer to consultant specialist in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Thematic content analysis was applied to analyse the data. Results: The data analysis revealed a rigidity of opinions, inflexibility blocking the acceptance of contrasting perspectives, and perceived superiority over all other professions and over patients. The belief that patients know nothing was common among all participants. Similarly, doctors believed that there is no need to include a professionalism and humanity course in the medical school curriculum. The majority of respondents thought that social science topics are irrelevant to medicine and are common-sense things that they already know. The doctors recognised high professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues. The reported characteristics include using social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing patients, substance use such as cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays and inappropriate salaries. Conclusions: It seems that professionalism has declined among young doctors, and this should be immediately addressed by policymakers. The lack of training about ethics and healthcare service delivery, and a lack of performance monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at public hospitals are the major factors contributing to declining professionalism. There is a need to revisit the curriculum taught to medical students in order to strengthen professionalism.


2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
pp. 149-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayoade Adedokun ◽  
Oladipo Idris ◽  
Tolulope Odujoko

AimThe investigators aimed to assess the willingness of patients to utilize and pay for a proposed short message service- (SMS) based appointment scheduling service.BackgroundTelecommunication applications have been introduced to improve the delivery of healthcare services in developed countries; however, public-funded healthcare systems in developing countries like Nigeria are mostly unfamiliar with the use of such technologies for improving healthcare access.MethodsWe proposed a SMS-based (text message) appointment scheduling system to consenting subjects at an outpatients’ clinic and explored their willingness to utilize and pay for the service. Using semi-structured interview schedules, we collected information on: estimated arrival time, most important worry when seeking for healthcare services at public hospitals in the study setting, ownership of a mobile phone, willingness to utilize a SMS-based appointment for clinic visits and willingness to pay for the service. In addition, respondents were asked to suggest a tariff for the proposed system.FindingsA total of 500 consecutively recruited patients aged 16–86 (42.1±15.4) years participated; 54% (n=270) were females. Waiting time ranged from 1–7.5 h (3.9±1.1). Two overlapping themes emerged as most important worries: crowded waiting rooms and long waiting time. Ownership of mobile phones was reported by 96.4% (n=482) of subjects. Nearly all favoured the proposed appointment scheduling system (n=486, 97.2%). Majority of patients who favoured the system were willing to pay for the service (n=484, 99.6%). Suggested tariff ranged from 0.03 to 20.83 (1.53±2.11) US dollars; 89.8% (n=349) of the subjects suggested tariffs that were greater than the prevailing retail cost of the proposed service. In sum, our findings indicate that patients in this study were willing to utilize and pay for a proposed SMS-based appointment scheduling system. The findings have implications for policies aimed at improving healthcare access and delivery of healthcare services at the primary care level in developing countries like Nigeria.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimia pourmohammadi ◽  
Peivand Bastani ◽  
Payam Shojaei ◽  
nahid hatam ◽  
Asiyeh Salehi

Abstract Objectives: This mixed-method study was conducted to interpret the political, economic, social and technological issues that encourage hospital managers to be aware of the conditions and be equipped to plan and perform proactively. Results: structured interview using Douglas West framework and a researcher-made questionnaire were used to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of hospitals’ environmental factors. The key issues at micro level environment of public hospitals were related to prescription and overuse of pharmaceuticals, inequality in distribution of healthcare services and high demands for luxurious services. At macro level: higher fertility rates, hospital services tariffs, changes in the patterns of diseases and inappropriate hospital budgeting have direct impact and economic sanctions, government corruption, centralization and high bank interest rates have indirect impact on public hospitals in Iran. Generally the strategic policies are required to improve quality-based payment system, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of services, improving fair income generation and urging positive motivations for service providers are the strategies to cope with the future changes. Key words: public hospital, environmental scanning, strategic management, PESTLE analysis, future, Iran


Author(s):  
Nada Alzara

Abstract: The aim of this research is to give an overview of the current YouTube community, including what influence YouTubers have on their teenage viewers in the UAE and to what extent this influence on their life is considered positive or negative. YouTubers are seen as role models and are often followed by their teenage fans. However, parents often do not know about the online behavior of their children and the YouTubers they follow. Therefore, this study uses a qualitative study approach with a semi-structured interview technique. The sample consists of 30 teenagers based in the UAE. The research shows that YouTube has become part of the daily life of many teenagers. YouTubers do have influence on the behavior of teenagers, of which teenagers and their parents are unaware. This influence might not be completely negative but the lack of awareness might be. Keywords: YouTubers – Vloggers – Teenagers – Social Influence – Online Behavior – Digital Communication


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