Can professional values be taught? A look at residency training.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Professional Ethics

Background:

• Medical professionalism is a long-valued but poorly understood aspect of physician training.
• Educators are tasked with assessing professionalism in trainees, despite unclear transmission methods.
• The relationship between professionalism and clinical competence requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between professionalism and clinical performance in surgical residents.
• To determine if qualities of professionalism correlate with objective and subjective performance metrics.

Main Methods:

• A 50-month longitudinal study of surgery residents at a large metropolitan hospital.
• Evaluation of residents based on objective criteria (clinical abilities, performance) and subjective qualities (ethical standards, interpersonal skills/professionalism).

Main Results:

• Residents scoring above the mean in professionalism also demonstrated significantly higher performance across all evaluated dimensions of skills and knowledge.
• A positive correlation was observed between professionalism and overall clinical performance.

Conclusions:

• The qualities that constitute professionalism are integral to resident training.
• Professionalism appears to be a significant predictor of superior clinical competence.
• Further research into the professionalism-clinical competence link is warranted.