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Viewpoint: teaching professionalism: is medical morality a competency?
1Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, FOT 722, 1530 Third Avenue South, Birmingham, Alabama 35294, USA. thuddle@uab.edu
Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges
|September 28, 2005
Summary
Medical professionalism is viewed as a core competence, but it is fundamentally medical morality, not just a skill. Teaching and assessing it requires a shift from traditional methods to focus on lived experience and subjective evaluation.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Professionalism Studies
- Bioethics
Background:
- The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) recognizes medical professionalism as a key competence.
- Medical educators are exploring effective methods for teaching and assessing professionalism.
- Professionalism is distinct from clinical skills, involving inherent moral dimensions.
Framework:
- Professionalism is defined as medical morality, with norms that are more demanding than clinical expertise.
- Acquired morality in medical education must integrate with pre-existing moral outlooks.
- Traditional educational models (cognitive engagement, supervised practice) are insufficient for inculcating professionalism.
Implementation:
- Current cognitive or behavioral assessments are inadequate for evaluating professionalism.
- Achieving compliance with professional norms can occur during formative training (internship, residency).
- True commitment to professional norms emerges through imitation of virtuous faculty role models.
Implications:
- Assessment of professionalism must be subjective, narrative, and personal.
- Evaluation should occur during periods of stress and routine activity, not special occasions.
- Rethinking pedagogical approaches is crucial for fostering genuine medical professionalism.
Keywords:
Bioethics and Professional Ethics