Medical Professionalism: Using Literary Narrative to Explore and Evaluate Medical Professionalism

Abstract

Demonstration and measurement of “professionalism” have become explicitly stated goals in medical education in recent years. However, these goals have proved elusive, as neither teachers nor students always have a clear and precise definition of the features and constituent parts of medical professionalism. This chapter describes a “workshop” on professionalism in the field of pediatrics that uses literary narrative to explore and evaluate medical professionalism. In 2013, The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education asked particular specialties in medicine to define and articulate particular “milestones” (i.e., observable activities) for “core competency” areas, including competency in professionalism. The chapter sets forth schemas of narrative—a useful delineation of “features” of narrative—and traces the use of Dr. Richard Selzer’s short story, “Imelda,” as the narrative basis for workshop members to identify and discuss the professional competencies in medicine in general and in pediatrics more specifically. The chapter concludes with the results from four workshops following the procedures set forth.