Standards of Professionalism

Appropriate professional behavior is a fundamental component of preclerkship and clinical competency. Accountability for the professional development of students and the evaluation of their professionalism is the responsibility of all preclinical and clinical evaluators, despite the relatively short course/clerkships, changing sites and perception that this is a subjective area.

In addition to clinical performance and medical knowledge, interpersonal skills need to meet a New JerseyMedicalSchool standard. Interpersonal skills are described here as (1) professional attributes and responsibilities; (2) self-improvement and adaptability; (3) relationships with patients; and (4) interpersonal relationships with other members of the faculty and health care team. These are the areas of evaluation on the Professionalism Form and the language was chosen to define the minimum standard of behavior that the student has not attained. Very importantly, once a student is identified, remediation is instituted.

We must set standards for the attainment of professionalism that are as high as those for the attainment of the cognitive skills. However, while cognitive areas are judged in blocks of time (courses and clerkships), professionalism must be assessed over the continuum of the student’s medical school education.

If you have an experience with a student that does not meet the standards stated above, the following steps must be taken:

1.Discuss the situation with the Course/Clerkship Coordinator and decide if it is appropriate to complete the Professionalism Form. If yes, the form is completed by the Course/Clerkship Coordinator within three weeks from the start of the next clerkship.

2.The Course/Clerkship Coordinator discusses the form with the student. If another faculty member initiated the action, he or she may be present for the meeting, at the discretion of the Course/Clerkship Coordinator.

  1. The student signs and comments on the form.
  2. The form is submitted to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs.
  3. The Associate Dean presents the form to the Student Affairs Committee, which decides if the form has merit. Appropriate methods of remediation are discussed.
  4. The Associate Dean meets with the student to design and implement the method of remediation.
  5. The Associate Dean gives feedback to the Clerkship Coordinator as to the outcome of the report.

If one Professionalism Form is completed, it will not be placed in the student file. However if two or more forms are submitted for an individual student, the student will need to appear before the Student Affairs Committee and may be placed on academic probation.

*Adapted from A Strategy for the Detection and Evaluation of Unprofessional Behavior in Medical Students, Academic Medicine, Vol. 74, No. 9 /September 1999.