Professionalism in Practice: A Novel Approach to Integrating Small Doses of Case-Based Professionalism Education Into...

Professionalism is a critical construct across the health professions, though learners and faculty report feeling underprepared to navigate difficult situations; education in professionalism is challenged by the absence of a universal definition, time constraints due to overcrowded curricula, and the lack of consistent messaging to learners and faculty.

Professionalism in Practice (PiP) was developed to provide small doses (∼5 minutes) of case-based professionalism education as part of an existing educational forum (Grand Rounds) to optimize attendance of both learners and faculty. Each vignette highlighted a common professionalism challenge and was aligned with an AAMC professional competency. Sessions were facilitated by learners and faculty in the department, and introduced a consistent framework (i.e., pause, my perspective, other's perspective, collaboration) for navigating difficult situations.

Post-session survey respondents (n=153 across 11 sessions) indicated that vignettes were relevant (93% [n = 142/153] agreed or strongly agreed), and that participants intended to change behavior (70% [n = 120/151] agreed or strongly agreed) and use the PiP framework in future practice (90% [n = 45/50] agreed or strongly agreed). Open-text comments revealed specific planned behavioral changes, such as pausing when frustrated or avoiding biased language in documentation.

PiP addresses known challenges in professionalism education by adding case-based teaching to an existing educational forum attended by both learners and faculty, and by using a consistent definition of professionalism and framework for approaching common challenges. The initiative is adaptable to other institutions seeking to incorporate small doses of professionalism teaching as part of routine educational practices.