Teaching medical professionalism: a lesson in perspective from Plato's Protagoras.

Abstract

Medical professionalism is difficult to define and is poorly understood.1 The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) defines medical professionalism as: ‘A set of values, behaviours, and relationships that underpins the trust the public has in doctors’ , which includes ‘integrity, compassion, altruism, continuous improvement, excellence and working in partnership with members of the wider healthcare team’. 2 A QMUL primary care seminar in 2015 about educating clinicians for medical professionalism gave the example of dedicating appropriate time to the parents of children undergoing major surgery. There is evidence that professionalism can be developed via role modelling and personal reflections.3 Traditionally, doctors have taught their trainees professionalism by role modelling — but might we learn anything new from older models of professionalism? The RCP’s concept of medical professionalism and its relation with public trust has similarities with the concept of ‘virtue’, debated in Socrates’ dialogue with Protagoras, as recorded by Plato in 380 bce Protagoras, a Greek philosopher, claims to be able to teach virtue (the Greek …