Graduate Medical Education

Professionalism

ACGME Common Program Requirements state that each residency/fellowship program must require its residents/fellows to obtain competence Professionalism. It is necessary for programs to define the specific knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes required, as well as provide educational experiences as needed in order for their residents and fellows to demonstrate competency in the area of Professionalism.

Professionalism requires residents/fellows to demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities and an adherence to ethical principles. Presidents are expected to demonstrate: larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on other resources in the system to provide optimal health care. Residents/fellows are expected to demonstrate:

Compassion, integrity, and respect for others;
Responsiveness to patient needs that supersedes self-interest;
Respect for patient privacy and autonomy;
Accountability to patients, society and the profession;
Sensitivity and responsiveness to a diverse patient population, including but not limited to diversity in gender, age, culture, race, religion, disabilities, and sexual orientation.

Program Improvement activities assure full integration of this and other competencies with learning and clinical care. To review several recommended evaluation methodologies, click here.

Core Assessment Systems are essential to improving resident performance in this competency as well as the other competencies. To review an example of comprehensive core assessment system, which uses multiple methodologies and raters, click here.

Key Components:

Common Program Requirements (effective 7/1/07) are available at the ACGME website. ACGME also has provided a Program Director's Guide to the Common Program Requirements that became effective 7/1/07.

Examples of Professionalism in Curricula:

Examples of Professionalism Evaluation Tools:

Evaluation of Competencies (generic competencies)
Annual Evaluation Form with Competencies (use for promotion)
Summary Evaluation Form with Competencies (use for graduation)

ACGME has provided a Reference List as well as documented several Approaches to Assessment of Systems-Based Practice

This page was last updated on: January 23, 2008.