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Assessing professional behaviour: Overcoming teachers' reluctance to fail students
Marianne Mak-van der Vossen1, Saskia Peerdeman, Walther van Mook
1VUmc School of Medical Sciences, P,O, box 7057, 1007 MB Amsterdam, the Netherlands. m.mak@vumc.nl.
Medical educators are reluctant to fail students with unprofessional behavior. Supporting teachers in teaching, assessing, and remediating professional behavior reduces this reluctance, leading to more judgments of unprofessional conduct.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Professionalism in Medicine
- Faculty Development
Background:
- Developing professional behavior is a key objective in medical education.
- Teachers are crucial in this process but often reluctant to fail students exhibiting unprofessional conduct.
- Interventions to support educators are needed to address this reluctance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if supporting medical teachers in teaching, assessing, and remediating professional behavior reduces their reluctance to fail students.
- To evaluate the impact of an educational theme on professional behavior at VUmc School of Medical Sciences.
Main Methods:
- An educational theme on professional behavior was implemented in 2010.
- Student database records of unprofessional behavior judgments from 2008-2010 (pre-intervention) and 2010-2013 (post-intervention) were compared.
- Qualitative feedback from teachers regarding their reluctance to fail students was analyzed.
Main Results:
- The number of unprofessional behavior judgments increased after the intervention.
- Teachers reported positive feedback on the new system for teaching and assessing professional behavior.
- Teachers felt less reluctant to assign unsatisfactory judgments for unprofessional behavior.
Conclusions:
- Supporting medical teachers in educating, evaluating, and remediating students on professional behavior decreases their hesitation in failing students.
- This approach enhances the assessment and management of professional conduct in medical training.
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