Ten-minute snapshots - a team approach to teaching postgraduates about professional dilemmas

As medical professionals, most of us face professional dilemmas that catch us unawares and are not discussed in medical training. One often learns about these dilemmas on one's own and deals with them with a common sense approach, rather than reflection. The professional dilemmas may concern receiving gifts from patients, handling issues of confidentiality or dealing with personal questions. There is seldom any formal instruction in competencies related to professionalism, especially in India. We adopted a team approach to provide training in these issues to postgraduate trainees in mental health and to engage them in discussion, using team feedback on snapshots of real-life professional situations, which were simulated through role play. We found that the trainees felt that these methods were acceptable and to their liking. However, a more formal method of assessing how this approach actually influences day-to-day practice must be evolved.