Defining Medical Professionalism Across the Years of Training and Experience at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

ABSTRACTBackground: Many medical institutions have moved forward with curricular objectives aimed at teaching professionalism, but the question remains: are we teaching the most appropriate content at the most opportune times to maximize sustained learning? The students' point of view of professionalism is helpful in addressing this question. Aim: To describe the views of professionalism held by students and faculty at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Methods: In e-mailed surveys, students and faculty free-texted the three most important characteristics of a professional. Qualitative analysis was used to analyze the results. Data were compared on the basis of the percentage of each group affirming one of the characteristics. Results: Fourteen characteristics of professionalism were found. There were significant differences across all participant groups in the characteristics that each indicated were most important. Conclusion: Differences emerge between definitions of professional...