Developing and piloting a form for student assessment of faculty professionalism

Abstract

One of the impediments to teaching professionalism is unprofessional behavior amongst clinical teachers. No method of reliably assessing the professional behavior of clinical teachers has yet been reported. The aim of this project was to develop and pilot such a tool. Thirty-four desirable professional behaviors in clinical teachers were identified. Medical students (n = 13) and medical educators (n = 30) rated their importance and validity. Based on the ratings, 16 behaviors in 4 dimensions were included in an assessment form that was piloted in the Department of Pediatrics at McGill University, with medical students (n = 94) rating the professionalism of their clinical faculty (n = 20). One hundred and ninety forms were returned with between 1 and 22 evaluations per faculty member. Scores ranged from 25 to 48 (maximum rating = 48, mean score = 42.7, SD = 6.29). A generalizability analysis was conducted; internal consistency was 0.89, and reliability for a mean of 8.23 ratings per faculty member was 0.53. Inter-rater reliability for one item was 0.11, potentially due to the context specificity of behavior or low frequency of unprofessional behaviors. Exploratory factor analysis revealed 3 factors with eigen values over 1. Assessment of the professionalism of clinical teaching faculty appears to be feasible, acceptable and reasonably reliable. The explicit evaluation of professional conduct in clinical faculty could encourage the maintenance of professional behaviors and potentially decrease the effects of negative role modeling and positively affect the hidden and informal curricula.

Humanism, the Hidden Curriculum, and Educational Reform

“…In this sense, a majority of the reform-based literature in our archive appears to conceptualize learners (medical students) as needing protection from negative role models and the dehumanizing effects of socialization into medicine. [83][84][85][86][87][88] As such, students rarely are discussed as active participants in their education and training. Rather, they are portrayed as innocent, passive victims of the debilitating effects of HC, lacking socioemotional resilience, and requiring extra efforts to cultivate humanistic traits.…”

Developing a Dental Scrubs Ceremony to define professional identity and teach professionalism to dental undergraduates; lessons learned

“…When students observe unprofessional behaviour amongst Faculty, it not only breeds cynicism, 13 but also has a negative impact on the teaching of professionalism by souring the learning environment. 18 Similarly, the "rule-based [model of] professionalism" 3 allows professionalism to be assessed via students' visible and measurable behaviour but notes that assessing students' attitudes and values can be more difficult. Students tend to associate professionalism with a set of practices or rules with which they must comply and enact.…”

Twelve tips for addressing medical student and resident physician lapses in professionalism

“…What appears on the surface as unprofessional behavior may in fact be a lack of understanding or a misinterpretation of a role, task, or situation. Akin to thorough qualitative data analysis, medical educators should listen carefully to identify underlying themes in the learner's perspective and story (Todhunter et al 2010;Bernard et al 2011;Karnieli-Miller et al 2011). The best approach to this process is excellent listening coupled with subsequent reflection to understand and integrate what is being communicated by the learner.…”