Professionalism in its time and place: some implications for medical education

Professionalism is fundamental to good medical practice but is multifaceted so observing that a person is professional in some areas will not guarantee that person would be professional in others. Most definitions of professionalism include a commitment to self-monitor and to improve; some personal virtues; and effective relationships with colleagues, patients and people who are important to those patients. In addition, it is suggested that expectations of professionalism may alter depending on context, both of time and place. Societal expectations relating to professionalism are likely to change over time and our expectations of individuals may alter according to the stage of training. The environment (the workplace, one's colleagues, the work tasks) is also highly influential on the manifestation of professional behaviours. The medical profession's social contract in relation to professionalism will always need to be updated. The effect of time and place means that searching for innate or stable elements of professionalism, in order to predict subsequent behaviours, is therefore difficult. This has implications for the selection, education and assessment of medical students. The focus should be on how to build adaptability and resilience to contextual influences; to identify those elements of professionalism that can be learnt; and build systems of assessment that reflect professionalism's multifaceted and contextual aspects.