Group items tagged

Today's definition of medical professionalism is evolving - from autonomy to accountability, from expert opinion to evidence-based medicine, and from self-interest to teamwork and shared responsibility. For many, medical professionalism is the "heart and soul of medicine." More than the adherence to a set of medical ethics, it is the daily expression of what originally attracted them to the field of medicine - a desire to help people and to help society as a whole by providing quality health care. But many physicians today experience profound obstacles to fulfilling the ideals of medical professionalism in practice.

"This study's findings indicate that rural physicians are routinely confronted with professional boundary issues in everyday situations, and these circumstances do not always reflect those of their urban colleagues. Given the increase in longitudinal immersion clinical clerkship programs to nurture student interest in future rural practice, acknowledgment and acceptance of the nuances of dual relationships and boundary setting in different clinical learning contexts are vital to help students identify their personal needs for privacy and be better prepared to negotiate the realities of rural practice. These findings may inform future medical education initiatives on professional boundary setting as an aspect of professionalism."

"The principles and responsibilities of medical professionalism must be clearly understood by both the profession and society. The three fundamental principles below are a guide to understanding physicians' professional responsibilities to individual patients and society as a whole."

A social contract does exist between medicine and society. Because society has chosen to use the concept of the profession as a means of organizing the services of the healer, professionalism has come to serve as the basis of this social contract. What is expected of the physician as healer is largely determined by what it means to be a professional in contemporary society.

"Professionalism in medicine is, in essence, a conversation about what it means to be a good doctor. It has been a major topic of discussion in the field for many years and will likely remain so for years to come. Physicians still debate how to define it, how to assess it and how to teach it. Younger doctors sometimes have different ideas on what it means to be a professional than older colleagues. "

"This is all about patients. This is an updated professionalism, about quality of care and evidence-based medicine. "

"Evaluating professionalism in medicine from the outside, as a neutral observer rather than a passionate practitioner, can provide insights unlikely to arise within the profession itself. "

"CONCLUSIONS: Providing students with opportunities to engage in active sense-making activities within the formal professional curriculum can encourage an embodied and sophisticated understanding of professionalism."

" It is essential to set clear expectations for professional behavior with faculty and residents. A notice of deficiency should define the expected acceptable behavior, timeline for improvement, and consequences for noncompliance. Faculty should note and address systems problems that unintentionally reinforce and thus enable unprofessional behavior. "

"When we are online, just as when we are offline, we must always respect the dignity of our patients and colleagues. If we recognise that 'becoming a professional is an interpersonal and complex activity'(3) then we should aspire to research and guidance on social media and professionalism which reflects this. "

Advancing Medical Professionalism in Health Care list

"Routine adoption of smartphones by residents appeared to improve efficiency over the use of pagers for physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. This was balanced by negative communication issues of increased interruptions, a gap in perceived urgency, weakened interprofessional relationships, and unprofessional behavior. Further communication interventions are required that balance efficiency and interruptions while maintaining or even improving interprofessional relationships and professionalism."

" Reflective narratives reveal how students construe professional roles in practice. Mapping the content of reflections to a competency framework confirmed the mismatch between the formal and enacted curricula. "

rivacy conscious photo sharing for healthcare professionals, as featured on Medgadget. Download to view high quality images of medical conditions instantly. Upload and share clinical images with the Figure 1 medical community. Get feedback from other healthcare professionals in your field.

There is a need for a cultural change in clinical education, in which those involved with the professional training of healthcare professionals perceive teaching as more than the transmission of knowledge and technical skills. Process-oriented teaching practices that integrate technology as part of a carefully designed curriculum may have the potential to facilitate the development of capable healthcare graduates who are able to navigate the complexity of health systems and patient management in ways that go beyond the application of knowledge and skills.

How to tweet and why healthcare professionals should be doing it.

The importance of reflection and reflective practice are frequently noted in the literature; indeed, reflective capacity is regarded by many as an essential characteristic for professional competence. Educators assert that the emergence of reflective practice is part of a change that acknowledges the need for students to act and to think professionally as an integral part of learning throughout their courses of study, integrating theory and practice from the outset.

"The richness of the informal curriculum in a longitudinal rural placement powerfully influenced students' intentions to practise rurally. It provided an important context for learning and evolving notions of professionalism and rural professional identity. This richness could be reinforced by developing formal curricula using educational activities based around service-led and interprofessional learning. To overcome the contextual barriers, the rural workforce development model needs to focus on socialising medical students into rural and remote medicine. More generic issues include student selection, further expansion of structured vocational training pathways that vertically integrate with longitudinal rural placements and the maintenance of rurally focused support throughout postgraduate training."

"Medical education needs to be responsive to changes in professional identity being generated from factors within medical student experiences and within contemporary society."

The usefulness of online social networking is undeniable and it's no surprise that physicians are embracing it. But…these tools present a minefield of legal and professional hazards for medical professionals who don't take the utmost care in how, what and where they post.