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:

RESOURCES:

ACGME has provided a Virtual Program Director's Handbook. You may click on the document name to access these resources, or may visit the ACGME website at www.acgme.org.

Common Program Requirements and Common Program Requirements for One Year Fellowships, both effective 7/1/11, are available at the ACGME website. ACGME also has provided a Program Director's Guide to the Common Program Requirements that became effective 7/1/11.

UMMC has provided a Program Director Guide with examples of program, rotation, and level specific goals and objectives as well as sample evaluation tools for evaluating resident/fellow performance, faculty performance, and program effectiveness.

This page was last updated on: January 31, 2013.