Your professionalism is not my professionalism: congruence and variance in the views of medical students and faculty about professionalism

Evaluation of Self-Reported professionalism lapses among dental undergraduate students: A cross-sectional study from a Malaysian dental faculty

INTRODUCTION

Professionalism and academic integrity are important components of dental education as they influence not just the present-day learning process, but also the practice of dentistry in future. This study evaluated self-reported professional lapses, academic dishonesty behaviours among peers and recommended sanctions for such lapses.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory I: Academic Integrity questionnaire was administered to BDS students of a private dental institution in Malaysia. Differences in the level of recommended sanctions were assessed by Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis test.

RESULTS

There was unanimous agreement that all 34 statements of lapses of academic integrity as unacceptable. The highest agreement (95.6%) was related to threatening or abusing university employees or students and involvement in paedophilic activities, whereas the lowest agreement was observed for getting or giving help for coursework against rules (47.3%). The most frequent behaviours observed among peers were lack of class punctuality (55.1%) and providing and receiving proxy attendance services (49.3%). About 36% admitted to not being punctual themselves, 26.8% for accepting or providing help for course work and 22.9% for receiving and providing proxy attendance. Female students displayed stricter recommended sanctions, with the most significant difference relating to joking disrespectfully about body parts (p < .001). More lenient recommended sanctions were observed among Year 1 students compared with other years, with the most significant difference (p < .001) observed for exchanging information about the exam, forging a signature, plagiarising and cut-pasting materials without acknowledgement.

CONCLUSION

The majority of academic lapses were well comprehended. Significant differences were observed in sanctions imposed in terms of gender and year of study.

Exploring the Educational Value of Popular Culture in Web-Based Medical Education: Pre-Post Study on Teaching Jaundice Using "The Simpsons"

BACKGROUND

The potential of popular culture as a tool for knowledge delivery and enhancing engagement in education is promising but not extensively studied. Furthermore, concerns exist regarding learning fatigue due to increased reliance on videoconferencing platforms following the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure effective web-based teaching sessions that maintain attention spans and enhance understanding, innovative solutions are necessary.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to evaluate the use of specific popular culture case studies to enhance student engagement in a web-based near-peer teaching session.

METHODS

We delivered a web-based teaching session to undergraduate medical students in the United Kingdom. The session included clinical vignettes and single-best-answer questions using characters from "The Simpsons" television show as patient analogies for various causes of jaundice. A pre-post survey, employing a 7-point Likert scale, was distributed to gather data from participants.

RESULTS

A total of 53 survey responses were collected. Participants reported significantly improved understanding of jaundice after the session compared to before the session (median 6, IQR 5-6 vs median 4, IQR 3-4.5; P<.001). The majority of participants agreed that the inclusion of "The Simpsons" characters enhanced their knowledge and made the teaching session more memorable and engaging (memorability: median 6, IQR 5-7; engagement: median 6, IQR 5-7).

CONCLUSIONS

When appropriately integrated, popular culture can effectively engage students and improve self-perceived knowledge retention. "The Simpsons" characters can be used pedagogically and professionally as patient analogies to deliver teaching on the topic of jaundice.

What we think about professional and unprofessional behaviors: differences between the perception of clinical faculty members and medical students

INTRODUCTION

Differences in the viewpoints of clinical faculty members and medical students about prioritizing professional norms accepted by the professional community and lack of alignment of these views can lead to distortion of understanding, problems in learning and assessment of professionalism, and failure in students' professional identity formation. This study aimed to identify the differences in viewpoints of clinical faculty members and medical students about prioritizing the importance and prevalence of professional and unprofessional behaviors among undergraduate medical students.

METHODS

A multi-stage qualitative study was conducted at Tehran University of Medical Sciences during 2020-2021. At first, a systematic search was conducted to identify professional and unprofessional behaviors using the directional content analysis method. A panel of experts was formed to check the codes obtained from reviewing the literature and to evaluate its compliance with the context. Then, the modified nominal group technique sessions were held with clinical faculty members and medical students to strengthen the codes extracted from the studies and systematically integrate their views to achieve a comprehensive list of professional and unprofessional behaviors in accordance with the context. Finally, a consensus was made among them about prioritizing the importance and prevalence of these behaviors in undergraduate medical students.

RESULTS

A total of 490 codes of professional behaviors and 595 unprofessional behavior codes were identified in the literature review. In the following sessions of the modified nominal group, 13 clinical faculty members listed 105 codes of professional and unprofessional behaviors, and 51 medical students also listed 313 codes. The results of the modified nominal group technique showed that the faculty members reported the importance of unprofessional behaviors higher than professional ones. At the same time, students rated the importance of professional behaviors higher than unprofessional ones. Both faculty members and students rate the prevalence of professional behaviors as high and the prevalence of unprofessional behaviors as low.

CONCLUSION

The results showed a difference of views between clinical faculty members and medical students about prioritizing professional and unprofessional behaviors. It is essential to align their viewpoints to understand, learn and value professionalism to develop a professional identity.

Assessing professional identity formation (PIF) amongst medical students in Oncology and Palliative Medicine postings: a SEBA guided scoping review

BACKGROUND

Introduction to a multi-professional team who are working and caring for the dying, and facing complex moral and ethical dilemmas during Oncology and Palliative Medicine postings influence a medical student's professional identity formation (PIF). However, limited appreciation of PIF, inadequate assessments and insufficient support jeopardise this opportunity to shape how medical students think, feel and act as future physicians. To address this gap, a systematic scoping review (SSR) of PIF assessment methods is proposed.

METHODS

A Systematic Evidence-based Approach (SEBA) guided SSR of assessments of PIF in medical schools published between 1^st January 2000 and 31^st December 2021 in PubMed, Embase, ERIC and Scopus databases was carried out. Included articles were concurrently content and thematically analysed using SEBA's Split Approach and the themes and categories identified were combined using SEBA's Jigsaw Perspective. The review hinged on the following questions: "what is known about the assessment of professional identity formation amongst medical students?", "what are the theories and principles guiding the assessment of professional identity formation amongst medical students?", "what factors influence PIF in medical students?", "what are the tools used to assess PIF in medical students?", and "what considerations impact the implementation of PIF assessment tools amongst medical students?".

RESULTS

Two thousand four hundred thirty six abstracts were reviewed, 602 full-text articles were evaluated, and 88 articles were included. The 3 domains identified were 1) theories, 2) assessment, and 3) implementation in assessing PIF. Differing attention to the different aspects of the PIF process impairs evaluations, jeopardise timely and appropriate support of medical students and hinder effective implementation of PIF assessments.

CONCLUSION

The Krishna-Pisupati model combines current theories and concepts of PIF to provide a more holistic perspective of the PIF process. Under the aegis of this model, Palliative Care and Oncology postings are envisaged as Communities of Practice influencing self-concepts of personhood and identity and shaping how medical students see their roles and responsibilities as future physicians. These insights allow the forwarding of nine recommendations to improve assessments of PIF and shape the design of a PIF-specific tool that can direct timely and personalized support of medical students.

An insightful evaluation of professionalism among dentistry students

Purpose

The objective of this study was to explore the ambience of professionalism related to academic integrity among undergraduate dental students.

Methodology

“Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory I: Academic Integrity” was used to collect responses from first-year to fifth-year dental students of the College of Dentistry, King Saud University (Response rate = 78%). The participants’ responses (for 34 professionalism lapses) were recorded by using the Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, Chi-square, and T-tests (P < 0.05).

Results

The “Ignore” sanction was not opted for any of the 34 professionalism behaviors, and there was unanimous agreement between the participants in considering all 34 behavior statements to be “wrong”. Male and female participants were found to opt for a similar sanction as the median for 16 statements (47%), whereas, for 18 statements (53%), their responses differed with a range of levels 0.5 to 1.5. Preclinical- and clinical-year student responses also showed similarities in their 11 statements (32.3%), and they did differ for 20 statements (58.8%). Interestingly, clinical year respondents were overall on the stricter side of recommending sanctions.

Conclusions

For the majority of the dental students tested, there was a good understanding of the significance of some lapses of professionalism associated with academic integrity. Some of the disclosures in this study were substantially appreciable because none of the students selected “ignore” sanction for any of the survey statements. We found that using the Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory for learning and understanding academic professionalism among dental students is useful.

Assessment of Medical Professionalism among Students and Faculty Members of Shalamar Medical and Dental College, Lahore

INTRODUCTION

Medical professionalism is an essential part of training and professional development of medical students. Unprofessional behavior in medical school may lead to professional misconduct in the future careers. The Learner's Attitude of Medical Professionalism Scale (LAMPS) is a self-assessment questionnaire. It has been used in this study to assess and compare self-reported attitudes about different domains of medical professionalism among First and Final Year students and Faculty of Shalamar Medical and Dental College (SMDC). LAMPS has been used to identify the gaps in the attitudes of medical students and professionals, which can be addressed through a training program of professionalism.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional survey conducted in SMDC from June to Dec 2018. First Year and Final Year Students and Faculty were recruited by non-probability convenience sampling. The sample size was calculated by the Cochran's Formula, keeping the level of significance at 5% and margin of error at 3%. The reliability of LAMPS using Cronbach's alpha is 0.7. It has been validated by 32 experts followed by pilot testing. The domains of professionalism were scored according to Likert Scale. The data were analyzed using SPSS 24. T-test was used for comparison of the means.

RESULTS

There were a total of 204 study participants; 88 students from First Year, 78 from Final Year and 38 Faculty Members. Honor/Integrity was the most valued trait and Excellence/Autonomy was the lowest scored domain of medical professionalism. There was a significant difference among attitudes of the First and Final Year students in the domains of Excellence/Autonomy and Altruism. Excellence/Autonomy and Honor/Integrity showed a significant difference between the Final Year students and Faculty.

CONCLUSIONS

Medical students and faculty have significantly different views of certain attributes of professionalism. Honor/Integrity was the most valued trait and Excellence/Autonomy was the lowest valued trait of medical professionalism.

Perception of Saudi Undergraduate Students Towards Professionalism in Medicine

Objectives

Professionalism has garnered immense attention in medical education due to increased societal accountability and focus on excellence in healthcare. However, less attention has been given to identifying attitudes about professionalism in medical students who are the future advocates of the healthcare system. This study aimed to assess perceptions of Saudi undergraduate medical students towards professionalism.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was carried out among second and sixth year students of the College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia, in September 2018. A self-administered professionalism questionnaire was anonymously completed. Students were asked to provide their level of agreement with 18 survey items using a 5-point Likert scale.

Results

Overall, 288 students participated in the study (males: 49.3% and females: 50.7%), with a response rate of 90%. The median professionalism score was high (71.0; range: 64–76) regardless of age, gender or level of education. Similar high scores were noted in the following subscales: Excellence, 20.0 (range: 18–21); Respect for Others, 17.0 (14–18); Altruism, 12.0 (10–13); Duty, 8.0 (7–9); Accountability, 7.0 (6–8) and Honour and Integrity, 8.0 (7–10). No gender differences were observed in the majority of subscales. However, males demonstrated higher scores in the Duty subscale (males: 9.0 versus females: 8.0; P = 0.026).

Conclusion

Medical students demonstrated high professionalism scores. Future studies are needed to assess the impact of the course curriculum on their level of professionalism over time.

Faculty perceptions of student plagiarism and interventions to tackle it: a multiphase mixed-methods study in Qatar

BACKGROUND

The widespread use of the internet and other digital resources has contributed to the escalation of plagiarism among medical students and students of other healthcare professions. Concerns were raised by faculty at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), a branch of Weill Cornell Medicine of Cornell University in New York, who had been observing plagiarism in students' assignments.

METHODS

To identify the extent of plagiarism practices and their contributing factors, a two-phase mixed-method research study was conducted, comprising a survey administered in 2013, followed by longitudinal interventions, and a second survey in 2017 to measure the impact of the interventions.

RESULTS

By Phase II, overall observed plagiarism incidents per year decreased from 44 to 28%, and the number of faculty who observed no plagiarism incidents increased significantly from 12 to 37%. The faculty concerned about student plagiarism decreased by 33% [53.1 to 20%] between Phase I and Phase II.

CONCLUSION

When students are provided with information regarding what constitutes plagiarism and their institution's policy in response to plagiarism incidents, they are less likely to engage in such practices.

Young medical doctors' perspectives on professionalism: a qualitative study conducted in public hospitals in Pakistan

Background

Professionalism is amongst the major dimensions determining the competence of medical doctors. Poor professionalism affects the overall outcome of healthcare services. This study explores the perspectives of young medical doctors on professionalism in Pakistan.

Methods

A qualitative study based on in-depth interviews was conducted with 60 young medical doctors, aged less than 40 years, who had studied medicine in Pakistani universities, were Pakistani nationals, and were employed at various hierarchical levels, from house officer to consultant specialist, in public tertiary hospitals in Pakistan. The respondents were identified through a multistage maximum heterogeneity sampling strategy. A semi-structured interview guide was developed based on a previous extensive literature review. Written consent was obtained from the hospitals and study participants. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied to analyse the data.

Results

The data analysis revealed that rigidity of opinions, unacceptability of contrasting perspectives, false pride, and perceived superiority over other professions and patients were major components of poor medical professionalism. Most of the young doctors believed that there is no need to include professionalism and humanity course modules in the medical curriculum, because topics related to social sciences are deemed irrelevant to medicine and judged to be common sense. The doctors recognised good professionalism in themselves, while reporting unprofessional behaviour demonstrated by their colleagues and paramedics. Other factors contributing to poor medical professionalism included the use of social media applications during duty hours, ridiculing patients, substance use such as smoking cigarettes in the office, referrals of complicated cases to other hospitals, freeing up beds before holidays, lack of cooperation from paramedical staff, and inadequate role models.

Conclusions

Poor medical professionalism among young doctors needs to be addressed by policymakers. There is a need to revisit the medical curriculum to strengthen professionalism. It is essential to develop the qualities of tolerance, teachability, and acceptance in doctors in order to facilitate interprofessional collaborations and avoid medical errors.

Student and faculty perceptions: appropriate consequences of lapses in academic integrity in health sciences education

BACKGROUND

A breadth of evidence supports that academic dishonesty is prevalent among higher education students, including students in health sciences educational programs. Research suggest individuals who engage in academic dishonesty may continue to exhibit unethical behaviors in professional practice. Thus, it is imperative to appropriately address lapses in academic dishonesty among health sciences students to ensure the future safety of patients. However, students and faculty have varying perceptions of what constitutes academic dishonesty and the seriousness of breaches in academic dishonesty. The purpose of this study is to gain health sciences faculty and students' perceptions on the appropriate consequences of lapses in academic integrity.

METHODS

Faculty and students from different health care disciplines were asked to complete the anonymous survey in which 10 different academic (non-clinical) and clinical scenarios were presented. For each scenario, students or faculty needed to address their concern and assign an academic consequence that they considered appropriate (ranked from no consequence to dismissal). A mixed-effects model was used to assess the difference of questionnaire scores between subgroups. The study was completed in the Spring of 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 185 faculty and 295 students completed the electronic survey. Across all survey questions (clinical and non-clinical), the perceived severity of the behavior predicted the consequence chosen by the respondent, indicating that both faculty and students assigned what they felt to be appropriate consequences directly based on their values and perceptions. Both faculty and students show congruence in their opinions regarding the perceived seriousness of clinical cases (p = 0.220) and the recommended consequences assigned to such lapses (p = 0.110). However, faculty and students statistically significantly disagreed in their perception of the severity of non-clinical academic dishonesty scenarios and recommended consequences (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our research supports the need for collaborative work between faculty and students in putting forth clear guidelines on how to manage and uphold rules related to lapses in academic integrity not only for non-clinical situations, but especially for clinical ones in a health care setting. Recommendations from this research include using an honor code utilized in clinical settings.

Standing out with Professionalism: How do Students and Faculty of two different Medical Schools perceive it?

Background and Objectives

Medical professionalism is an essential aspect of medical education and practice worldwide. Our objective was to explore and compare the perception as recommended sanctions about professionalism lapses, using the "Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory I: Academic Integrity", among the faculty and the students' of two different medical schools in Saudi Arabia.

Methods

Respondents from the two medical schools in Saudi Arabia, recommended sanctions for the first time, absolute lapses in academic professionalism were determined by using the "Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory 1: Academic Integrity".

Results

On comparing the faculty and students' responses (from College of Medicine, King Saud University) with the published data (from another, unidentified medical school in Saudi Arabia) we found alignments in recommending sanctions for 14 (46.66%) behaviours among faculty and again concerning the11(36.66%) behaviours among the students of both cohorts.

Conclusion

The results can be used to emphasise on the improved teaching and learning strategies in undergraduate medical students' understanding of professionalism.