Teaching and Assessment of Professionalism: A Comparative Study between Two Medical Schools

Abstract

Background: Medical professionalism, a key element in medical practice, includes values, behavioursand relationships that build up the trust between the public and doctors. As professionalism is notinborn social characteristics, it is vital to be formally taught in the undergraduate curriculum. Thestudy aimed to assess and compare the degree of coverage of professionalism behaviours in Facultyof Medicine, Suez Canal University (FOM-SCU), Egypt, and Ibn Sina National College for MedicalStudies (ISNC), Saudi Arabia. Method: Two-stage survey was used to obtain information aboutcurricular components related to teaching and assessment of professionalism and to review theprograms of both schools against the categories of professionalism behaviours. Results: Both schoolswere found to have curricular components related to teaching and assessment of professionalism.Coverage of professionalism components in FOM-SCU curriculum was 100% of the courses, exceptfor “Honour and Integrity” and “Caring and Compassion”. At ISNC, coverage ranged between(26.4%) to (37.7%), except for “Altruism”. Some teaching and assessment methods of professionalismwere common between both schools, while some were specific for each school. The relative amount ofprofessionalism teaching is different in both schools. Conclusion: Both schools recognise the necessityto address professionalism as an essential component of their students’ education. FOM-SCU needs toemphasise on Honour and Integrity and Care and Compassion, while ISNC needs to pay more attentionto teaching of most components of professionalism.