A literature review of professionalism in surgical education: Suggested components for development of a curriculum

摘要

Background: While it is evident that a surgeon must master medical knowledge and technical skill, there are other soft skills that are essential to a successful surgeon. One of these skills is professionalism. The challenge in surgical education lies in developing an effective professionalism curriculum and a related method of evaluation. Objective: Our review updates the literature and provides recommendations for improving instruction and evaluation of professionalism. Design: A literature review was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Knowledge. We restricted our search to documents published from 2009 to 2012 that address methods of teaching and tools for assessing professionalism in surgical education. Results: Sixty-three documents were reviewed, with 14 fitting our search criteria for professionalism in surgical education completely. Other articles focused on the topics of professionalism in surgery, medical professionalism, and professionalism education in medical specialties other than surgery. Conclusions: Development of a professionalism curriculum for surgical residents might begin with defining professionalism in terms of tangible behaviors. The program might also include a precurriculum preparatory course and simulation-based training. Residency programs must also maintain professionalism among its faculty. Assessment in the form of multisource feedback that is consistent with observable behavioral definitions of professionalism should also be considered in evaluating resident professionalism.