Training and learning professionalism in the medical school curriculum: current considerations

Recommendations in the literature concerning measures to address the challenges to professionalism have converged on the establishment of an education community, on a structured curriculum dealing with professionalism, on developing programs for role modelling and mentoring, and on attention to the assessment of professional conduct. The interventions in the field of medical education appear central among these efforts, since it is during medical school that the template for professional conduct in medicine is primarily learned. This article attempts to provide a more in-depth discussion of the goals, purposes and current factors influencing teaching and learning professional behaviour in the medical school curriculum and the residency programs.