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Updated: May 5, 2026
Principles of Rodent Surgery for the New Surgeon
Published on: January 6, 2011
A framework for professionalism in surgery: what is important to medical students?
Maura E Sullivan1, Janet Trial2, Craig Baker1
1Department of Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1520 San Pablo Street, Suite 4300, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
Background:
The purposes of this study were to develop a comprehensive framework for professionalism in surgery and to determine which attributes are most valued by medical students.
Methods:
A framework for professionalism in surgery, consisting of 11 attribute categories, was developed. All 3rd-year medical students (n = 168) participated in a focus group and completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions about professionalism. Students' responses were transcribed verbatim, coded, and assigned attribute categories.
Results:
Students rated respect as the most important attribute of professionalism (56%), followed by altruism (21%) and interpersonal skills (8%). Fifty-three percent of students witnessed unprofessional behavior among faculty members while on the surgical clerkship. Of these incidents, 74% were related to respect, 28% to practice improvement, and 1% to altruism.
Conclusions:
Respect was rated as the single most important characteristic of professionalism and was the attribute with the most witnessed violations.
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