Medical professionalism and professional organizations

AbstractProfessionalism is defined as behaviors and attitudes. The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) listed 6 dimensions of good professionalism as: altruism, accountability, excellence, duty, honor and integrity, and respect for others; and listed elements that erode professionalism: abuse of power and sexual harassment, conflicts of interest, professional arrogance, physician impairment, and fraud in research. The formulation of professionalism from an Islamic perspective consists of 7 dimensions: (faith (iman), consciousness (taqwat), best character (ahsan al akhlaq), excellent performance (itqaan al ‘amal), strife toward perfection (ihsan), responsibility (amanat), and self-accountability (muhasabat al nafs). From the earliest human history medical practice was by non-professionals, members of the family and religious leaders. Development of scientific medicine and its technology required training of dedicated professionals who had specialized skills and had to follow codes of professionalism. Professional organizations were set up to defend the rights of members, regulate and discipline practitioners, regulate training, and promote scientific research and exchange. Professionalism is taught actively as structured curriculum courses or passively as apprenticeship under good role models. Various approaches are used in the assessment of professionalism such as using special instruments like the Nijmegen Professional Scale developed in the Netherlands and the Professional Mini Evaluation instrument developed in Canada. Professionalism can also be assessed by (a) assessing knowledge, attitudes, and practice of professionalism; peer assessment of professionalism, (b) assessment of student behaviors such as fulfilling duties, and (c) analysis of student narratives on critical incidents