Closing the Gap: Understanding The Definition of Development of Professionalism Across the Career Span

Description: Unprofessional behavior in physicians is associated with several negative outcomes, including patient safety concerns, decreased staff morale, and increased cost of care at all levels of the health care system. Lapses in professionalism are particularly concerning to the profession, as professionalism is an expectation of patients, as well as a foundational principle of specialty practice and the ABMS board certification process.

Inconsistencies in existing definitions delineating what constitutes professional behavior contribute to ambiguity in terms of when to intervene on physicians who are exhibiting potentially concerning behaviors. This session will review various entities’ descriptions and definitions of professionalism in the context of trainees and practicing physicians. We will discuss using the perspectives of a designated institution official, a director of a centralized remediation program for graduate medical learners, and a provider of assessment and treatment/remediation of physicians across the continuum who are in difficulty. Organizational barriers to identification and intervention at various stages of the professional career will be reviewed. These concepts will be highlighted using cases, an audience response system, and audience participation.