Assessment of Professional Behaviour: An Imperative Need in the Medical Curriculum

Abstract To assess the implications of teaching professionalism in medical students through an organized, professional behaviour course in a medical curriculum. It was a retrospective study of an academic cohort of 2018-2020 medical students. In the early stages of university admission, students are introduced to the philosophy concepts of professionalism in health care and are given clear instructions about strict compliance with standards of professional behaviour. This is continued in an organized way throughout the medical program. Pre-designed grading criteria are implemented in all the medical years. Tutors are made aware of this grading and receive training through faculty development sessions. Each tutor grades a group of students who are in direct contact with them during the block/rotation. We observed that the professional behaviour grades tend to improve with each passing academic year in the medical program. It was seen that male students scored higher grades in professionalism, but also the reporting of critical incidents related to professional behavior is highest amongst the males. The effectiveness of teaching professional behaviour via an organized course curriculum is observed at ABCD University. We strongly advocate this approach in teaching and achieving high standards of Professionalism in medical graduates.