Understanding the stakeholders’ perspectives on professionalism in healthcare: a cross-cultural analysis

Abstract

Background: The growing ability of healthcare systems to diagnose and treat diseases, together with changes in financing and healthcare delivery standards, have pointed out many ethical and professional issues for physicians. The training of devoted professionals with specialized skills is needed for the development of modern medicine and technology. The objective of the study: To identify the perception of stakeholders (doctors, nurses, students, administrators, and policymakers) in Punjab, Pakistan, and compare their perceptions available in the international literature regarding professionalism in the healthcare sector Methodology: The study design was qualitative. 530 individuals took part in thirty-eight focus group discussions, with 8-15 participants in each group, in various settings across the province of Punjab. Thematic analysis was undertaken of the transcribed data. The findings were compared with the evidence made available from a scoping review of the literature. The following three questions guided the research: 1. What are the perceptions of doctors, nurses, students, administrators, and policymakers in Punjab, Pakistan, regarding medical professionalism? 2. How does this sense-making of medical professionalism amongst stakeholders in Punjab, Pakistan, compare with the evidence available in the international literature regarding sense-making by stakeholders in other regions of the world? 3. How do the perceptions and understanding of medical professionalism differ amongst various stakeholders within the healthcare delivery system of Punjab, Pakistan? Results: Four distinct superordinate themes were identified: VALUES-DRIVEN, ADEPT, POTENT LEADER and SUPPORTED. There were greater variations in findings from amongst the stakeholder groups at the subordinate themes and further lower levels of thematic analysis. Conclusion: understanding of medical professionalism varies among stakeholders and depends on context, culture, environment, and many other factors identified in this research