The Concept and Development Direction of Medical Professionalism

This paper summarizes the concept of medical professionalism and presents its direction. Toward this end, the authors compare the characteristics of a professional with those of a craftsman and a technician. The authors describe the construct of medical professionalism on the assumption that knowledge and technical competence are necessary but not sufficient conditions for the professional. The construct of medical professionalism could be defined variously, depending on the time, place, or collectivity. The authors furthermore summarize cases for the development process of medical professionalism and then compare Korean medical professionalism with that of the West. Finally, the authors present the development direction of medical professionalism in Korea.