A Qualitative Study of How On-Campus Faculty and Off-Campus Preceptors Evaluate Veterinary Students' Professionalism

Professionalism is defined and described in a variety of ways that differ considerably in details and quantity. While professionalism has become increasingly important, educators' opinions regarding the types of professionalism vary. The objective of this qualitative study was to evaluate faculty and preceptors' perspectives regarding veterinary medical students' professionalism during their clinical rotations. A thematic content analysis was performed to classify 2,014 comments. Five main themes emerged: (a) work ethic and attitude; (b) effective interactions with clients and delivering patient care; (c) effective interactions with health care professionals; (d) punctuality, task completion, and organization; and (e) commitment to improving competency in self and others. The importance of professionalism was stressed by both groups of faculty and preceptors through written comments; however, the magnitude of each theme differed. The results indicate that without understanding professionalism elements, the lack of conceptual clarity and consensus related to expected behaviors and attitudes would make it challenging to assess professionalism appropriately. The themes identified can be used to begin a discussion about expected behavior among faculty, preceptors, and students, therefore prompting a reasonable assessment of professionalism, as well as avoiding unprofessional behavior.