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Professionalism is a big part of medicine; in fact it is defined as “commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles and sensitivity to a diverse patient population” and is one of the 6 core competencies by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). You are a physician everywhere you go and people will look at you as such. This entire post actually came about after I attended a meeting for the American College of Physicians last week in which the NY chapter had their annual scientific meeting. A part of that scientific meeting is an abstract and poster competition. If your abstract was selected you are asked to present the poster and then the best presentation wins.
I was there as a presenter, but my eye also became attuned to some of the errors being made by other presenters, specifically in the realm of professionalism, and began to realize these errors may potentially stem back to their time on the wards. Here are some lessons I picked up about the transferability of professionalism on the wards and off.
1. Dress – An error noted by me was that many of the participants were not dressed appropriately. There were presenters dressed in jeans, some of the men were not wearing ties, and although this may seem antiquated, a sport jacket is a part of academic attire. This translates into the wards and has repercussions. A recent JAMA article showed that physicians’ dress impacted the patient’s perception of their doctor’s abilities. Back in the days of Osler, if you walked in without a tie and sport coat I am pretty sure he would have thrown you out, or thrown something at you.
2. Introductions – Another tidbit I noticed was that the presenter would launch into the case or research project to the judge coming around the poster boards but not introduce him/herself or say good morning. The ones who did say “good morning, my name is” seemed to have a much friendlier judging experience. This TOO translates to the wards. Before you see any patient you must introduce yourself. Can you imagine if someone in a white coat came up to you and said “how are you feeling”, and 10 minutes later tried to give you a digital rectal exam without telling you who they are, what they do, and why they are there?
3. The Check In – One crucial component of the presentation is saying thank you to the judges, as they are volunteers spending a Saturday morning judging your work and giving you feedback. I noted that a lot of the presenters did not say thank you; perhaps they were nervous, but we can never forget our manners.. In the same light, we must always treat our patients with the utmost respect. One way is at the end of your shift on the wards, it is always nice to stop by your patient’s room and let them know you are leaving for the day and tell them the name of the doctor who is taking over for you. This is a part of the GUIDE initiative at my institution. Remember patients are scared; if you make them feel comfortable you are helping the entire healing process.
These are just a few ways to keep your professionalism at its peak. Although it is not an exhaustive list, and I am sure 99% of residents already do this, and at the end of the day, it is still good food for thought.
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All of the opinions expressed here are the author’s and his alone, and do not represent necessarily those of Kaplan or its employees.
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