Professionalism Perceptions: A Comparison of Anesthesiology Trainees and Attendings

Professionalism is a core competency in graduate medical education, yet research examining specialty-specific professionalism perceptions between trainees and faculty remains limited, particularly regarding the influence of role and institutional culture on these perceptions. This study examined how anesthesiology trainees and attendings perceive unprofessional behavior and whether these perceptions differ based on participant characteristics.

A multisite cross-sectional survey was conducted at five anesthesiology residency programs from February to March 2024. Participants rated degree of unprofessionalism on 19 workplace vignettes depicting potentially unprofessional behaviors using a 7-point Likert scale. Vignettes were categorized into five themes: verbal, supervision, quality, time, and engagement. Proportional odds models examined differences in ratings based on role (trainee vs . attending), adjusting for gender, race, underrepresented status, and institution.

Among 369 respondents (153 trainees, 216 attendings; 35.9% response rate), perceptions varied by scenario and participant characteristics. Six vignettes were more consistently rated as unprofessional (more than 80% unprofessional ratings), while four showed higher variability (less than 50% unprofessional ratings). Significant institutional differences were observed in five vignettes (odds ratios [ORs] less than 0.14 or greater than 3.7; P < 0.0001 to 0.027). Age influenced ratings of five vignettes (ORs, 0.75, 1.68, 1.63, 1.35, and 1.31, respectively; P < 0.0001 to 0.027), while gender, race, and underrepresented status showed no significant differences. After adjustment for demographics, trainees and attendings differed significantly in their ratings of 10 vignettes ( P < 0.0001 to 0.033). Attendings rated nine scenarios as more unprofessional than trainees (ORs ranging from 0.26 to 0.50), while trainees rated only one scenario as more unprofessional than attendings (OR, 2.01).

Perceptions of unprofessional behavior among anesthesiology professionals vary significantly by role and institution. These findings underscore the importance of context-sensitive approaches to professionalism education that acknowledge diverse perspectives and institutional cultures while maintaining core professional standards.