Professionalism in (vascular) surgery: What does it mean?

Abstract

A publication in the August 2020 issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery, "Prevalence of unprofessional social media content among young vascular surgeons," brought the concept of professionalism in the vascular surgery community to the forefront. In response to the methodology used in the article, and the definitions of professionalism, a global backlash from health care providers and lay people ensued. The article has since been retracted; however, its publication highlighted the need to reexamine current definitions and philosophies surrounding professionalism in medicine and surgery that may be discriminatory and exclusive. The term professionalism has no standard definition as evidenced by varying definitions among different societies and organizations. The lack of a structured, universally accepted definition of professionalism in the medical and surgical communities has resulted in no standard by which to measure the actions of physicians and surgeons. The definition of professionalism need not be complex and should not vary among specialties and societies. In its most simplistic form, the core definition of "professionalism" embedded in the volumes of publications, guidelines, and charters that exist on the subject of professionalism in medicine is respect. We propose a tiered approach to define professionalism in medicine that builds on fundamental principles of respect and inclusivity, and includes actionable steps at three levels: (1) individual, (2) organizational, and (3) societal. Through this approach, any physician, regardless of specialty, practice type or location, can apply these concepts to ensure they consistently embody what it means to be "professional." (

Defining Potentially Unprofessional Behavior on Social Media for Health Care Professionals: Mixed Methods Study

“…HCPs have realized that SM is not just a platform to post vacation photos and interact with followers [ 53 ]. As Drudi et al [ 33 ] emphasized, there is a need to re-examine current definitions and philosophies surrounding professionalism in medicine that may be discriminatory and exclusive. The term professionalism has no standard definition [ 54 ]; however, resolving problems of unprofessional posting with repression is an unsustainable model of managing e-professionalism.…”

“…When the paper by Hardouin et al [ 22 ] was retracted with justifications, it has started the #medbikini movement [ 33 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 ]. Numerous media articles presented the paper by Hardouin et al [ 22 ] as an example of creepy stalking [ 25 , 73 - 75 ], but viewing publicly available information about physicians or HCPs at SM is done by patients or employers, with benefits or consequences, either to their image or their careers.…”

“…Main differences comparing the Koo rubric and the SMePROF rubric for assessment of unprofessional content on FB are presented in Multimedia Appendix 4 [ 17 , 18 , 20 - 22 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 39 , 40 ].…”

“…Initiatives for a new definition or at least a better understanding of the term began. In the same journal, the Journal of Vascular Surgery , a year after the paper by Hardouin et al [ 22 ] was published and retracted [ 32 ], Drudi et al [ 33 ] gave a historical overview of professionalism in surgery in an attempt to present a new general direction for the definition of the term professionalism. They suggested a much more inclusive definition based on diversity and equity, with responsibilities toward professionalism explained on the level of the individual, the organization, and society at large.…”

Differences of professionalism perception on social networking sites between doctors of medicine and dental medicine: Development of e-professionalism assessment compatibility index (ePACI)

“…As prior coding schemes were developed for a different era of professionalism and especially after the medbikini affair [37,49], re-examining professional standards were necessary and a SMePROF coding scheme that includes SMePROF rubric for assessment of unprofessional content on Facebook was developed by Vukušić Rukavina et al [38]. Categorising of content has been made into three distinct groups: professional, potentially unprofessional, and unprofessional, considering new and updated perceptions of professional online behaviour of HCPs.…”