Teaching Medical Professionalism

Until recently professionalism was transmitted by respected role models, a method that depended heavily on the presence of a homogeneous society sharing values. This is no longer true, and medical schools and postgraduate training programs in the developed world are now actively teaching professionalism to students and trainees. In addition, licensing and certifying bodies are attempting to assess the professionalism of practising physicians on an ongoing basis. This is the only book available to provide guidance to those designing and implementing programs on teaching professionalism. It outlines the cognitive base of professionalism, provides a theoretical basis for teaching the subject, gives general principles for establishing programs at various levels (undergraduate, postgraduate, and continuing professional development), and documents the experience of institutions who are leaders in the field. Teaching aids that have been used successfully by contributors are included as an appendix.