Is it Time to Define Veterinary Professionalism?

Abstract

The medical profession has spent much time and many resources engaging in a discourse of medical professionalism and debating the appropriate attitudes and behavior of physicians, but little has been published concerning the concept of veterinary professionalism. Physicians are commonly examined by social scientists and educationalists to establish definitions of medical professionalism in order to teach and assess these values within curricula. This challenging process has not been without criticism, however, with some calling the numerous definitions unhelpful, especially when these behaviors are not demonstrated in practice or the wider sociological implications of medical professionalism are ignored. Veterinary curricula often include professional skills, and there has been some discussion about their inclusion as well as the scope of veterinary surgeons and their role in society. Despite this, no true definition of veterinary professionalism exists, and the teaching of the values and behaviors expected of veterinary professionals may not be explicit. Regardless of the difficulties of engaging in such a discourse, perhaps it is time that this occurred and a realistic and usable definition of veterinary professionalism is established. This is a period of change for the veterinary profession, and a teachable and assessable definition can provide some clarity and assist educators within ever evolving veterinary curricula.

Assessing Professionalism: A Theoretical Framework for Defining Clinical Rotation Assessment Criteria

“…The discrepancies suggest that educational practice is far from ideal and is inconsistent with Biggs' 3P model of effective teaching and learning, which describes shared expectations of the learning process and outcomes between lecturer and student (Biggs 1996). The discrepancy between student and staff expectations is perhaps most likely attributed to the lack of clear definitions of veterinary professionalism (Mossop 2012), either evident from the literature, or available to students and teaching staff, and therefore both groups used traditional notions or lay definitions to define how they perceived the term ''professionalism.'' The emphasis on communication skills was unsurprising, as this represents an aspect of the professional studies curriculum in this institution that is significant to both staff (as facilitators) and students.…”

“…Without existing frameworks for defining, assessing and teaching veterinary professionalism, previous authors have turned to medical education for guidance in teaching and assessment content (Mossop 2012). Recent reviews of this literature demonstrate an abundance of lists of terms to describe the desirable traits, behaviours and values of the professional, which frequently include normative descriptive terms such as honesty, compassion, respect and altruism (Wynia et al 2014).…”

Integração Intercampi no Ensino: Desenvolvendo Competências do Profissionalismo

“…Pode ser definido como um conjunto de competências relacionadas ao uso criterioso da comunicação, conhecimento, habilidades técnicas, raciocínio clíni-co, emoções, valores, ética e reflexões na prática diária para o benefício do indivíduo e da comunidade 1,2,3 .…”

Avaliação do profissionalismo em estudantes da área da saúde: uma revisão sistemática

“…It is reflected in the attitudes, behavior, character and standards of adequate practice and personified by familiarity with the codes of ethics and standards established by institutional medical organizations [8][9][10] . Therefore, professionalism was recognized as an ideal to be followed by professionals and established as a commitment on behalf of professionals to attain high quality levels of healthcare 1,11 .…”