Developing an Instrument to Evaluate Undergraduate Healthcare Students' Professionalism

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Professional Development
• Healthcare Professions Education

Background:

• Professionalism is a crucial, multidimensional quality in healthcare professionals.
• Undergraduate education is foundational for developing professionalism.
• Existing tools for monitoring student professionalism are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate an evaluation instrument for monitoring professionalism in undergraduate healthcare students.
• To assess the applicability and validity of the developed instrument in an interprofessional context.

Main Methods:

• Phase 1: Identified meaningful criteria for professionalism adapted to the educational level.
• Phase 2: Developed an evaluation instrument maximizing construct validity.
• Phase 3: Tested the instrument in an interprofessional study involving healthcare students.

Main Results:

• The evaluation instrument is applicable in practice and meets validity standards.
• The study identified some differences in professionalism development across professions.
• The instrument supports both self- and expert evaluation of students' professionalism.

Conclusions:

• Early monitoring of professionalism is essential for optimal student development.
• The developed evaluation instrument effectively supports the assessment of healthcare students' professionalism.
• The findings highlight the importance of interprofessional perspectives in evaluating professional development.