Professionalism Among the Medical Graduates and Ethical Responsibility: Bangladesh Perspectives

Abstract

Background: Ethics and professionalism, though interconnected, represent distinct aspects of professional conduct. Ethics are explicit guidelines that dictate acceptable behaviour within a profession, while professionalism encompasses personal attributes such as competence, reliability, and ethical integrity. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the attitude of recent medical graduates towards medical ethics and professionalism. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study explored the status of professionalism and ethics regarding knowledge, attitude and behavioural skills among graduates of different medical college hospitals in Bangladesh. This study period was July 2015 – June 2016. The sample size was 300 and a convenience sampling technique was adopted. Result: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out to evaluate 300 intern doctors based on their knowledge, attitudes, and behavioural skills as it concerns professionalism and ethics through the use of questionnaires, direct observation, and evaluation by patients. Of the participants, 73.3% were from government medical colleges with almost equal male-to-female ratios. Behavioral skills were assessed among 72 interns by assistant registrars and patients assessed 60 interns. While 68.3% of the interns reported prior knowledge about professionalism, only 15% correctly identified core elements of professionalism. Most participants, 52.3%, were unclear about the difference between ethics and professionalism. Conclusion: This study underscores how vital professionalism and ethics are in shaping Bangladesh's future workforce. Combining ethical training with technical education is key as the economy grows, particularly in healthcare. New graduates must blend expertise with empathy and strong ethics to build public trust and support the country's development on a global scale