MEDICAL PROFESSIONALISM ASSESSMENT AND SELF-EVALUATION PRACTICES AMONG GEORGIAN MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Healthcare Quality
• Professional Ethics

Background:

• Medical professionalism is crucial for high-quality healthcare and public trust.
• Systematic assessment and self-evaluation of professionalism are inconsistently implemented.
• Understanding perceptions of professionalism is vital for improving medical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore Georgian medical practitioners' perceptions of medical professionalism.
• To assess the current state of professionalism assessment in undergraduate medical education.
• To investigate self-evaluation practices of professionalism in clinical work.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study involving 99 medical doctors across Georgia.
• Two structured questionnaires developed based on established literature and pilot-tested.
• Voluntary and anonymous participation with high response rates (82.5% and 77.5%).

Main Results:

• 95% of respondents rated professionalism as highly important.
• 66% of those involved in teaching actively assessed professionalism, compared to 0% not involved in teaching (p<0.001).
• 56% reported regular self-assessment, while 29% did not.

Conclusions:

• High recognition of medical professionalism exists among Georgian practitioners.
• Significant gaps in systematic assessment and self-evaluation of professionalism were identified.
• Standardized criteria and structured implementation are needed in medical education and practice.