Thoughts on the professionalism day – Jill Thistlethwaite

So topical a subject - a variety of approaches and a lively discussion.

This was the first in what will be a series of one day seminars on educational topics of interest to all health professional educators. We couldn’t have started with a better title. Everyone is talking about professionalism, professional behaviour and professional development. Into this mix was added peer and self assessment, developments in research, the value of entry point interviews, portfolios and patient safety. An audience of 40, local and interstate visitors, added their thoughts and reflections, complementing the speakers and adding value to the workshop discussions.

The day began with an international flavour. Professor Ron Epstein from the Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and a practising family physician, explored the ins and outs of peer assessment and convinced us that medical students can be objective about their colleagues’ professional behaviour. The director of OPME, Chris Roberts, gave us a snapshot of the MMI - if and how this process will predict performance is still contested and we await results with interest. Charlotte Rees approached the topic from her social science background. The motivation/excuses for dropping a cup helped elucidate why students might behave either professionally or otherwise. The time was too short to do the concepts justice, but she was able to give further insights during her afternoon workshop. I spoke about portfolios, their potential use and the evidence for effectiveness. The morning ended with Merrilyn Walton’s expert delivery on patient safety and the notion of patient-centred professionalism, reminding us that excellence in patient care is at the core of what we are trying to achieve.

The afternoon was devoted to workshops - we could certainly have done with more time. The participants were buzzing with ideas to share and progress. Questions remain: how do students learn professional behaviour? How do we evaluate professionalism and tease apart attitudes and performance? Are portfolios a lot of effort for limited reliability or are they the optimum instruments for gauging professional development partnered with reflection?

The evaluation was highly complimentary. Feedback was very positive about the patient safety aspects, ‘faking professionalism’ and the peer appraisal approach described by Ron. There were comments on how ‘relatively underdeveloped this whole field remains’ and how ‘more evidence on outcomes’ is needed. The fact that other medical schools have similar professionalism issues was noted. More time was needed for the workshops – in fact there was a feeling that one day was too short and that more discussion was required about disciplinary action and remediation processes.

There was plenty of opportunity for networking and catching up with old friends. We certainly hope to run another similar session shortly, as suggested by many participants, and have lots of subject matter to stimulate discussion.