Post on 27-Dec-2015
Assessment of professionalismEthics in professional practice
Professor Rona PateyUniversity of Aberdeen
r.patey@abdn.ac.uk
Definition of professionalism
Numerous definitions……..but uncertainty remains
‘Medical professionalism signifies a set of values, behaviours and relationships that underpins the trust the public has in doctors with doctors being committed to integrity, compassion, altruism, continuous improvement, excellence & teamwork’
Royal College of Physicians 2005
Supporting the development of professionalism
• Curriculum design• Student selection• Teaching & learning methods• Role modeling• Assessment methods
Passi et al Medical Education 2010
Why assess professionalism?
• Post-grad disciplinary action strongly associated with prior ‘unprofessional behaviours’ as an undergraduate– Severe irresponsibility– Severely limited capacity for self improvement
Papadakis et al 04 & 05
• Requirement for students to demonstrate professionalism by regulators
• Most complaints about conduct not competence
• Present behaviour can predict future actions
• Doesn’t osmose
• All clinicians vulnerable to lapses in professional behaviour & can benefit from explicit attention to this domain
• Evidence that there may be a deterioration in professional attitudes from idealism to cynicism
Assessment of professionalism
• Many instruments described
• No single instrument for all aspects of professionalism
• Multidimensional approach
• Aim to track attitudes throughout curriculum
• Workplace based assessment desirable with multiple assessors in multiple clinical settings
Methods of assessing professionalism
• Peer assessment• Direct observation• Patient evaluations• OSCE• Standardised patient
assessments• Student evaluation• Reflective writing
• Self assessment• Educational portfolios• Teamwork exercises• P-MEX• Attendance / work
records• Video analysis• Situational judgement
test
Ethics in professional practice
• Two points of view on teaching ethics– Means of creating virtuous clinicians– Means of providing clinicians with the skill set to
analyse and resolve ethical dilemmas
• Work required to delineate core content, core processes, core skills
UoA Ethics teaching
• Professional & ethical code – Introduced in Year 1 &
signed annually
• Reflective writing• Whole class and small
group discussion• Clinical practise
UoA Ethics: Y1
• 4 principles– Beneficence– Non-maleficence– Respect for autonomy– Justice
• Highlight topics of particular relevance for the students:– Non-judgmental approach– Not imposing personal
views & respecting patient views
– Confidentiality– Not exceeding your
competency– Fitness to practise
UoA Y3, Y4 & Y5
• Clinical experience• Professional practice blocks ( 3 days Y3 / 2 x 2
wks Y5)– Ethics case scenarios– Medicolegal sessions e.g. mock Fatal accident
inquiry
Role models & the learning environment
• Important in:– professional character formation– to impart values of the profession
• Three characteristics of good role models– Clinical competence– Teaching skills– Personal qualities
Our context
• Students changing cultural contexts– Social and system differences
• Transfer of information on student professionalism– What?– How?