Definition Of Professionalism Research Articles

Towards professionalism — or against it? Dealing with the changing world in translation research and translator education

The aim of this article is to address some of the problems related to the notion of ‘professionalism’ in translation studies. Different definitions of professionalism and expertise are discussed on the basis of translation process research, expertise research and the sociology of translation. Translation quality is also touched upon, as it relates to both professionalism and expertise. We argue that both translation research and translator education need to deal with the developments on the translation market in order to better describe and explain the reality of translating, to change the reality if necessary, and to equip translation students with the skills and knowledge that are essential to cope with the realities.

Definitions of schizophrenia, 1908–1987: The failed essentialism

This work examines the historical conceptualization of schizophrenia through definition from 1908–1987. Rather than reveal an essentialist definition of schizophrenia in North America, it reveals a history of varying and competing professional definitions. It demonstrates and historically contextualizes how widespread conceptual instability and disagreement over the nature of the concept gave rise to a new, but still contested, theoretical emphasis on operational definitions. As made manifest through definition, schizophrenia has not been a stable transhistorical object. Rather, the characteristic feature in schizophrenia definition appears to be instability and variance rather than stability or long historical periods of agreement. This analysis nevertheless cautions against overstating the importance of fluctuating definition in assessing the ontological status of contemporary interpretations of schizophrenia.

Are We Treating Professionalism Professionally? Medical School Behavior as Predictors of Future Outcomes

Background: Seminal papers on medical professionalism demonstrate a link between medical school behavior and future disciplinary action by medical boards. Other groups have studied whether negative comments on a student's Dean's letter predict problems as residents. Various groups have tried to provide concrete examples of professionalism, including a number of offenses of questionable demerit, such as taking food from a talk that one ultimately does not attend, or criticizing the internal medicine residency curriculum for being overly focused on inpatient medicine at the exclusion of outpatient medicine. Summary: The seminal studies linking professionalism to future board disciplinary action are reviewed here. Overwhelmingly, the studies demonstrate weak associations with little predictive power. Thus, professionalism scores are much more likely to wrongfully cast doubt on ultimately un-censured physicians than they are to identify problem ones. Additionally, the body of literature identifying concrete examples of unprofessional conduct is growing. Such papers stretch the definition of professionalism to include acts of dubious wrongdoing, and thus, misinterpreted, may lead to false conclusions, e.g., taking food from a talk one is not attending is a predictor of board disciplinary action. A central challenge with professionalism is identified here. If professionalism is used both as a tool to evaluate students, and a competency to be taught, a tension arises. Some professional activities, such as witnessing error and self-regulation, inherently involve speaking up. However, if students are penalized for vague and subjective ideas of professionalism, are we deterring this important trait? Current directions in professionalism education and assessment are in need of clarification. Conclusions: The link between medical school behavior and future conduct is weak. The use of such factors in promotion decisions is more likely to be arbitrary and unfair rather than genuinely identify problem physicians. There is a core tension between teaching and evaluating professionalism. What counts as professionalism is in need of definition and meaningful validation.

Embracing Patient-Centered Professionalism

“Medical professionalism signifies a set of values, behaviors, and relationships that underpins the trust the public has in doctors.”1 These days, there are many people in many different lines of work who call themselves “professionals.” In modern society, the term “professional” often is self-designated, applied merely to indicate that an individual performs a certain service as their occupation. By calling yourself a professional, the implication is that you are competent at your job. Traditionally, however, the definition of a professional has been limited to individuals with the advanced learning to practice law, theology, or medicine.2 According to that definition, achieving professional status carries with it certain responsibilities. Most of us in the field of plastic surgery tend to think of professionalism, first and foremost, as competence – and we strongly link competence to appropriate training and certification. Obviously, there are those who disagree with this standard and see no problem with physicians self-designating their own expertise, particularly when it comes to cosmetic surgery – which, unfortunately, some view as medicine’s “wild, wild West.” However, the concept of self-designated specialists fails to offer the public any objective measure of a physician’s competence to perform specific procedures. It is a detriment to public trust and, therefore, to medical professionalism. Beyond one’s initial training and certification, there is the matter of Maintenance of Certification (MOC). The MOC program has been developed by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and its member boards, including the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), as an assurance that a physician is “committed to lifelong learning and competency in a specialty.” Physicians are measured in six core competencies: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning, systems-based practice, interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism .3 Similar to the definition of medical professionalism that opens this article, …

Professionalism Tune‐up: New Standards for Otolaryngology, 2011

Program Description: This miniseminar will be a general review of professionalism and its importance for practitioners, residents, students, and nurses. It is vitally important and practical for clinicians to have a regular review of appropriate etiquette and behavior at meetings and in interactions with others, students, bosses, and pharmaceutical companies. This miniseminar will equip the attendee with tools for lifelong learning. Speaker and Topic: Jesus Medina, MD: Professionalism in 2011, Definition of professionalism: 20 min. Karen Calhoun, MD: Professionalism in the work place: 15 min. Mark Zacharek, MD: Professionalism in a Residency Program: Core Curriculum: 15 min. Robert J. Stachler, MD: Academic Professionalism, Proper Meeting Etiquette: 15 min. Susan McCammon, MD: Appropriate Vendor, Drug Representative, Pharmaceutical Relationships: 15 min. Question and Answers: 10 min. Educational Objectives: 1) Define professionalism: in the work place, in an academic environment, and at home. 2) Identify appropriate styles of behavior to be effective role models for residents, students, and colleagues. 3) Demonstrate proper etiquette at social functions and meetings to be an effective leader in your field. 4) Define appropriate relationships with vendors, drug representatives, and pharmaceutical companies. 5) Review appropriate behavioral constructs and skills in core curricula during residency training for lifelong learning and reassessment during your career. 6) To learn how to play appropriately in the sandbox.

Peace-making, power configurations and media practices in northern Uganda: A case study of Mega FM

This article analyses the uses of the 'community' and 'peace media' labels in northern Uganda. It tries to assess their effect on power configurations and on the practices and the representations of media workers. In order to do so, it analyses how non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have penetrated the local media and have modified the rules of the game, in terms of access to resources and protection from repression, but also in terms of the definition of professionalism. It shows how a local radio station, Mega FM, has managed to negotiate its dependence on the state and on international NGOs, including how it has succeeded in dominating the local media market, by embracing these media models. Finally, all these dynamics are illustrated and nourished by a shift in the professional values: the media workers now value the 'responsibility' of the media understood as a support to the peace process.

Perceptions of Professionalism Among Nursing Faculty and Nursing Students

Although there is no consensus about the definition of professionalism, some generally recognized descriptors include knowledge, specialization, intellectual and individual responsibility, and well-developed group consciousness. In this study, Q-methodology was used to identify common viewpoints about professionalism held by nursing faculty and students, and four viewpoints emerged as humanists, portrayers, facilitators, and regulators. The humanists reflected the view that professional values include respect for human dignity, personal integrity, protection of patient privacy, and protection of patients from harm. The portrayers believed that professionalism is evidenced by one's image, attire, and expression. For facilitators, professionalism not only involves standards and policies but also includes personal beliefs and values. The regulators believed that professionalism is fostered by a workplace in which suitable beliefs and standards are communicated, accepted, and implemented by its staff. The differences indicate that there may be numerous contextual variables that affect individuals' perceptions of professionalism.

Differences in medical students’ explicit discourses of professionalism: acting, representing, becoming

Rather than merely acting professionally, medical students are expected to become professionals. Developing an embodied professional persona is not straightforward as there is no single perspective of what medical professionalism comprises. In the context of this confusion, medical educationalists have been charged with developing a professionalism curriculum that emphasises, supports and measures students' professionalism. This paper focuses on medical students' discourses of medical professionalism in order to understand the means through which students conceptualise professionalism. Discourse analysis was undertaken. Two hundred students from three medical schools (in England, Australia and Wales) participated in 32 group and 22 individual interviews. Students' explicit definitions of professionalism were inductively coded according to the dimensions of professionalism they identified (n=19) and the discourses of professionalism they used (individual, collective, interpersonal, complexity). Connections were explored between pre-clinical and clinical students' understandings of professionalism across the schools and the respective policies, documents and teaching opportunities available to them. Understandings of professionalism differed between pre-clinical and clinical students and between schools with different approaches to professionalism education. Students who experienced early patient interaction and opportunities to engage in conversations about professionalism within clinician-led small groups demonstrated complex, embodied understandings of professionalism, drawing on all four discourses. Students who learned predominately through lectures used a restricted range of discourses and focused on dressing or acting like a professional. Providing students with opportunities to engage in active sense-making activities within the formal professional curriculum can encourage an embodied and sophisticated understanding of professionalism.

Introducing HCM v3.0

Like the professional definitions of case management, the practice of hospital management is a dynamic process. However, because hospital case management programs come in so many shapes and sizes, there is a widespread tendency to forego the process and instead focus on the static tasks associated with utilization review and discharge plan arrangements. As a result, the research identifying best practices is inhibited and hospital case management practice is constrained. This article speaks to the need for a standard approach to hospital case management and offers a model that positions the hospital case manager as the primary patient advocate and physician partner that are among the essential ingredients for successful participation in accountable care organizations, progression-of-care management, and transitions of care support. Acute care hospitals, integrated delivery systems. 1. Hospital case managers must practice in accordance with the professional process of case management. 2. Hospital case management programs must be structured in such a way as to support the professional process of case management. 3. The roles and responsibilities of hospital case managers must be unmistakably defined to make certain that proactive advocacy is visible as the essential ethical obligation.

Unauthorized Uses of a Coauthored Work and a Doctoral Dissertation

This article describes the unauthorized uses of a coauthored work and a copyrighted U.S. dissertation by European scientists. The case involves alleged infringements of copyright and plagiarism in 6 works that were published up to 19 years after completion of the dissertation and up to 11 years after publication of the coauthored work. Relevant copyright laws, international copyright agreements, and professional psychology ethics and definitions of scientific misconduct are presented. Graduate students and professionals are advised to protect themselves from copyright infringement and recognize that the responsibility for detecting and correcting misappropriated work usually lies with them, not journal editors.

Underweight on My Chest

Resuscitation has the ability to reverse premature death. It can also prolong terminal illness, increase discomfort, and consume resources. The do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order and advance directives are still a debated issue in critical care. This review will focus on several aspects, regarding withholding and/or withdrawing therapies and advance directives in different continents. It is widely known that there is a great diversity of cultural and religious beliefs in society, and therefore, some critical ethical and legal issues have still to be solved. To achieve a consensus, we believe in the priority of continuing education and training programs for health care professionals. It is our opinion that a serious reflection on ethical values and principles would be useful to understand the definition of medical professionalism to make it possible to undertake the best way to avoid futile and aggressive care. There is evidence of the lack of DNR order policy worldwide. Therefore, it appears clear that there is a need for standardization. To improve the attitude about the DNR order, it is necessary to achieve several goals such as: increased communication, consensus on law, increased trust among patients and health care systems, and improved standards and quality of care to respect the patient's will and the family's role.

Professional development and the informal curriculum in end-of-life care.

Although professionalism has emerged as a key competency for today’s physicians, there exists little insight into how best to teach medical students the relevant skills or instill in them the commitment required to practice according to the highest professional standards. Ten UCSF medical students were interviewed at three time points (second, third, and fourth years of school). Interviews focused on students’ learning and development regarding end-of-life care (EOLC). Students described varying steps in their professional development from their second to fourth years of school, including feeling confused about the definition of professionalism and integrating their personal and professional identities. In addition to professional development, four other themes contributed to the development of medical student understanding of how to provide EOLC as a professional: (1) curricular discordance, (2) role models, (3) the tightrope between trained versus human reactions, and (4) ethical dilemmas. These five themes represent dilemmas that students often learned how to respond to over the course of school. Professional development in EOLC required the acquisition of skills necessary to balance the tension between and navigate conflicting messages present in medical student training.

New Value-Behavioral Structures and Hierarchies in the Technical Academic Education in the Context of Romania Integration in the European Union

The work is structured in 4 parts: I. Conceptual differentiations: value, belief, norm, mentality, attitude, interest, opinion, need, behavior; II. Restructuring scheme of the personality axiological components in a determined context; III. Professional values in the technical academic education: identification and hierarchy; IV. Conclu- sions. In the first part, there are made conceptual differentiations between the notions of belief, norm, mentality, attitude, interest, opinion, need, behavior, emphasizing thus on mutual aspects. In the second part of the paper, there is presented the global structuring of the axiological universe, the determinant factors of the value hierar- chy change in a given social-economic context, there is elaborated a new re-structuring scheme of the value components, there are identified specific mechanisms to the present Romanian society resistant to the value au- thentic change. In the third part, there is described D. E. Super’s theory that stands at the basis of the elaboration of the Professional Value Inventory. This was applied in our research on a sample of 120 students from the two technical faculties, getting thus a certain professional values hierarchy. The conclusions emphasize the confir- mation of the two hypothesis, the extrinsic motivating factors of the professional choice, behaviors and attitudes definition, values through immediate, material profit, of the individual welfare.

Professionalism in medical students

The Kings Fund, in association with Student BMJ , held a series of consultations in 2009 and 2010 on professionalism in medical students to examine how it might affect their training and practice in the future. The report , 21st Century Doctor: Understanding the Doctors of Tomorrow summarises the consultations’ findings . The development of medical professionalism in undergraduate medical education is intended to ensure that future doctors maintain high professional standards in all aspects of patient care.1 Over the past decade, the importance of teaching medical professionalism has been emphasised by international experts in North America and Europe. However, there are currently no guidelines on the most effective ways of helping medical students to develop high standards of medical professionalism.2 Numerous definitions of medical professionalism have been provided by major medical organisations.2 This report used the Royal College of Physician’s definition, which describes medical professionalism as, “A set of values, behaviours and relationships that underpins the trust that the public …

Lay and professional concepts of alcohol dependence in the process of recovery from addiction among treated and non-treated individuals in Poland: A qualitative study

The study identifies and categorizes concepts of addiction among treated and non-treated former alcohol dependents, and their function in the process of recovery from addiction within the post-communist treatment system dominated by the Minnesota model. This qualitative study is based on a media recruited sample of 29 former alcohol dependents (ICD-10) in Warsaw/Poland 2006/2007. They reported a recovery time of at least 2 years (Mrecovery = 11, SD = 9). In-depth interviews were analysed according to the Problem-Centred Interview method using Atlas.ti software. The applied triangulation procedures ensure reliability and validity of the data collected and the analysis of the narrative accounts. The results of the study show that professional concepts of addiction reconstructed on the basis of narratives from treated respondents resemble the disease model of addiction. A first category of lay concepts of self-changers adopt a medical–moral model of dependence including strong will as a key element of the successful recovery. A second category describes dependence as a symptom of maladaptive social functioning and recovery as a process of understanding one's role in society and fulfilling social expectations. While self-changers relied on one of these lay concepts, treated respondents were confronted with a conflict between lay and professional definition of dependence. It is argued that lack of recognition of lay concepts of addiction by treatment providers may weaken help-seeking and increase drop-out rates. The disease model implies the stability of the status of the alcoholic – which potentially weakens the individual's chance to reach the stage of stable recovery.

Towards a new definition of professionalism for college leaders: a Scottish perspective

In 1993, colleges in Scotland became independent corporate bodies, funded directly by central government. This article is a review of the evolution of college management practice within the context of the political reform of the public services and recent educational policy developments in Scotland. It is an analysis of a complex and continuous process of structural and political change that has revolutionised the role of college leaders. Public and political interest in moving towards ‘world class’ institutions has created a context for a new discourse of professionalism in the leadership and management of colleges. In this article we present a new and more comprehensive definition of professionalism, which offers a sharp contrast with the older public service ethic and with the simple rhetoric of managerialism. It is proposed that professionalism in further education management should, in future, be defined in terms of four inter-related dimensions. It is further suggested that the concept of professionality should be embraced, emphasising the ability to create a value base and an institutional culture which locates management, not above and in isolation from other staff, but as part of a network of professional expertise that has, at its core, a focus upon the complexity of the needs, values and expectations of lifelong learners.

Learning professionalism by role-modelling

Context and setting Professionalism is an important domain in undergraduate medical education. Throughout their years of study, medical students grow to appreciate their experiences of the learning environment and the ways in which the health care workers surrounding them influence their behaviour. Learning professionalism in the wards is a major requirement for undergraduates at the International Medical University Malaysia (IMU). Role-modelling remains one of the most effective means of imparting professionalism to undergraduate students. Why the idea was necessary Professional bodies and medical councils worldwide have made recommendations on both content and delivery in order that the teaching of professionalism should be made explicit and effective, rather than kept under wraps in the hidden curriculum. During the final 6 months of undergraduate training in IMU, medical students are posted to a district general hospital. They follow clinical ward rounds, clerking patients and planning the appropriate clinical management of patients using mock clerking sheets. This phase of their training provides many opportunities to learn and reflect upon elements of ethics and professionalism in their practice. What was done Final-year medical students are required to learn and understand the definitions of ethics and professionalism. While posted to the district hospital, during day-to-day practice on the ward, they are required to observe the behaviour of doctors on the ward and to identify any issues of professionalism. They are required to reflect upon these issues and then to discuss them with their teachers. The students are required to identify people whom they think are good role models. At the end of the 6-month period, all the students are required to provide feedback on their observational findings. Evaluation of results and impact A total of 66 students took part in this learning activity. Of these, 41 (62%) were able to give good definitions of professionalism, such as: ‘… the enactment of the values and ideals of individuals [i.e. doctors] to serve individuals and populations whose care is essential to the practice of medicine, prioritising the interests of those they serve above their own.’ Among the major domains of professionalism identified by students were: the provision of adequate information to the patient and his or her family (93%); the treatment of patients without influence by the ethnicity, religion or financial status of the patient (84%); being non-judgemental towards the patient’s family (83%); respect for other health care workers (83%), and respect for the patient’s wishes (71%). Senior medical academicians, senior hospital specialists and junior medical officers were considered as major role models by 54%, 12% and 6%, respectively, of the students. Most students (99%) indicated that role models had influenced their academic and personal characters. This exercise stimulated final-year clinical students to reflect upon the basic principles of professionalism in clinical practice and helped the students gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the importance of professionalism in daily practice. It also gave them the opportunity to realise the extent to which health care providers in the ward impact on others as role models. Similarly, after graduating, it appears that they themselves will be regarded as role models by medical students if they behave professionally.

Towards a practical definition of professional behaviour

ContextProfessionalism remains a challenging part of the medical curriculum to define, teach and evaluate. We suggest that one way to meet these challenges is to clarify the definition of professionalism...

A Question of Identity and Belonging. the Self between Familiar and Unfamiliar, Foreign Spaces

This paper was presented at the ECArTE conference 2009 in London. It was one of three papers which formed a paper presentation slot at the conference, with 15 minutes allocated for each paper. The overall title for the conference was ‘The Space Between; the potential for change’. There were a number of different headers suggested in terms of themes for papers and workshops. We opted for the area of professional identity. We felt it was important to give a brief overview of what DEEP is and how its identity as a working party of BADth came about. At the same time we didn't want the paper to be purely factual in terms of what the working party does; rather we felt it important to present some of the material that has arisen in our research into experiences of dramatherapist immigrants within Europe, particularly the struggle for professional (and personal) definition in a foreign place. We also wanted to make some reference to the theme of ‘role’ as in professional identity and ‘role’ as we understand it within dramatherapy. As the convenors of the working party we were aware that we were describing both an autobiographical experience in our writing and one that we have heard echoed throughout our meetings with other dramatherapists who have emigrated.

Medical Education as Moral Formation: An Aristotelian Account of Medical Professionalsim

The medical professionalism movement, bolstered by many influential medical organizations and institutions, has in the last decade produced a number of conceptual definitions of professionalism and a number of concrete proposals for its measurement and teaching. These projects, however laudable, are misguided when they treat professionalism as a unitary descriptive concept rather than as a contested and therefore primarily evaluative one; when they conceive professionalism as a domain of medical practice separable in principle from other domains; and when they treat professionalism as, in principle, a specifiable goal or product of sufficiently well designed educational curricula. The logic of professionalism-as-product corresponds to the logic of techne (art or practical skill) in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Aristotle provides a cogent argument, however, that the moral excellences denoted by "professionalism" cannot be "produced" or even prespecified in the concrete; rather, they must be acquired through long practice under the careful concrete guidance of teachers who themselves embody these moral excellences. Phronesis (practical wisdom) rather than techne must therefore be the guiding logic of educational initiatives in medical professional formation, with particular emphasis on close mentorship and on the moral character both of students and of those who teach them.