Using movies to teach professionalism to medical students

Background: Professionalism topics are usually not covered as a separate lesson within formal curriculum, but in subtler and less officially recognizededucational activities, which makes them difficult to teach and assess. Interactive methods (e.g. movies) could be efficient teaching methods but are rarely studied. The aims of this study were: 1) to test the relevance and usefulness of movies in teaching professionalism to fourth year medical students and, 2) to assess the impact of this teaching method on students\u27 attitudes towards some professionalism topics. Method: This was an education study with qualitative data analysis in a group of eleven fourth year medical students from the Medical School of University Maribor who attended an elective four month course on professionalism. There were 8 (66.7%) female students in the group. The mean age of the students was 21.9 +/- 0.9 years. The authors used students\u27 written reports and oral presentations as the basisfor qualitative analysis using thematic codes. Results: Students recognised the following dimensions in the movie: communication, empathy, doctors\u27 personal interests and palliative care. It also made them think abouttheir attitudes towards their own life, death and dying. Conclusion: The controlled environment of movies successfully enables students to explore their values, beliefs, and attitudes towards features of professionalism without feeling that their personal integrity had been threatened. Interactiveteaching methods could become an indispensible aid in teaching professionalism to new generations