Professionalism

Demonstrate commitment to excellence, honesty, respect for others, integrity and altruism in patient care.

Objectives

• Treat all patients, staff, and colleagues with respect, which includes maintaining a professional demeanor in speech and dress
• Strive for excellence
• Place the care of your patients above competing interests
• By the end of the clerkship component the student will be able to demonstrate effective communication strategies and professional behaviors with patients, families, and all members of the healthcare team (including physicians and non-physician health professionals).
  

Learning Activity

Professionalism should imbue all aspects of your performance and cannot really be taught in isolation. However, there are weekly sessions throughout the eight-week IM component taught by core senior faculty about important issues of professionalism including:

• Navigating the wards- your role in the team, working with mid-level and ancillary providers, etc.
• Approaching medical errors
• Palliative Care
• Communicating difficult news

Evaluation

Formative and summative feedback will be obtained from the ward team using a structured evaluation instrument. The clerkship director will evaluate portfolio submissions and your interactions with them as well (including timeliness, attitude, initiative). How you treat staff, nurses, and all members of the health care team can play a role in this evaluation, though formal feedback is not specifically sought out from these individuals.