Background: In recent years, smartphone use in professional settings has been increasing, particularly with physicians. There are benefits and drawbacks that result from this increase. Despite this, there is relatively limited peer-reviewed medical literature on the subject. Thus, suitable guidelines for smartphone use in the health care setting is needed. Aims: This article present guidelines for professional conduct related to the use of personal devices, such as smartphones, in the healthcare setting. Methods: These guidelines were developed through an interdisciplinary roundtable discussion at the 2016 Academy for Professionalism in Health Care Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Results: As a result of the roundtable discussions, several guidelines were developed. First, healthcare providers should be trained on the danger of distractions caused by personal devices and how to minimize them in a clinical setting. Second, the use of smartphones for personal use should be limited to specified use areas; however, if they are present during a patient encounter, they should be set to a mode that eliminates or minimizes interruptions. Third, providers should seek permission from patients prior to integrating smartphones into the provider-patient relationship. Finally, smartphone photography, while being a potential tool to improve patient care, should be used with caution concerning patient autonomy and privacy. Conclusion: The guidelines serve as a foundation from which professionalism with regard to personal device use can be further developed.

Bloom's Taxonomy offers a useful framework for understanding how competency-based osteopathic medical education is organized. Such analysis underscores the importance of attending to the language and construction of competencies to better understand how the language of competencies shapes pedagogic practices and begin a broader conversation about the appropriate use and distribution of lower- and higher-order cognitive processes within competency-based osteopathic medical education.

In response to changes in health care, American medical schools are transforming their curricula to cultivate empathy, promote professionalism, and increase cultural competency. Many scholars argue that an infusion of the humanities in premedical and medical training may help achieve these ends. This study analyzes Web-based messaging of Ohio’s undergraduate institutions to assess premedical advising attitudes toward humanities-based coursework and majors. Results suggest that although many institutions acknowledge the humanities, most steer students toward science majors; strong advocates of the humanities tend to have religious or other special commitments, and instead of acknowledging the intrinsic value that the humanities might have for future physicians, most institutions promote the humanities because entrance exams now contain related material.

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