Redefining professionalism to improve health equity in competency based medical education (CBME): A qualitative study

There is a pressing need to address all forms of anti-oppression in medicine, given systemic harm and inequities in care and outcomes for patients and health care professionals from equity-deserving groups. Revising definitions of professionalism used in competency-based education can incorporate new professional competencies for physicians to identify and eliminate the root causes of these inequities. This study redefined the CanMEDS Professionalism definition to centre perspectives of equity-deserving groups.

In this qualitative study there were two phases. The authors conducted individual semi-structured interviews with participants representing equity-deserving population groups to understand their perspectives on and iteratively build a definition of medical professionalism. Then, the authors undertook a consensus-building process, a modified nominal group technique, using focus groups with community members from equity-deserving groups and healthcare providers to verify findings and arrive at an updated definition of medical professionalism.

Four main themes were identified: 1) healthcare at the margins; 2) equity-oriented domains of professionalism; 3) structural professionalism; and 4) supporting improved professionalism. These themes were incorporated into a consensus-based definition of medical professionalism, with a focus on anti-oppression, anti-racism, accountability, safety, and equity.

The authors propose a new definition of medical professionalism that embeds anti-oppression, including anti-racism, as critical competencies in clinical practice and education.