Are we serious about teaching professionalism in medicine?

Full Abstract

Medical professionalism is an increasingly common topic of discussion in the medical education literature. Much of the recent literature on this subject addresses areas of weakness in the educational curricula of medical schools and residency programs. But students are living a world in which professional behavior is being redefined, often in ways that run contrary to the medical education curriculum. This article outlines three fundamental challenges that powerfully affect the ability to promote professionalism in students and young physicians. To overcome these challenges, the author suggests four steps that can be taken in the medical education community. First, medical schools should address cost and access to care as first-order intellectual problems and should encourage research programs in these areas. Second, schools should develop programs to humanize science and restore scientific integrity beyond the requirements of compliance programs. Next, medical school leaders should celebrate those who best embody moral leadership in the profession. Finally, the medical education community should acknowledge that the availability of affordable health care to the public depends on the practice choices of medical school graduates and should accept greater responsibility for this outcome.

Author information

Author/s: Saultz, John W (JW);

Affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine, Portland, Oregon 97239, USA. saultz(-atsign-)ohsu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Editorial

Journal: Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges (Acad Med), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Jun; vol 82 (issue 6) : pp 574-7

Dates: Created 2007/05/25; Completed 2007/07/12;

PMID: 17525543, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: 18 Feb 2009 00:00:00)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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