Professionalism and Ethics is a domain of multiple competencies required of healthcare managers and therefore, healthcare management programs. The benefits of behaving as a professional and ethical healthcare manager are numerous. Healthcare delivered in a professional and ethical manneris likely to be higher quality and result in greater patient satisfaction. Simultaneously, professional and ethical behavior builds recognition of healthcare management as a distinct "profession." Currently, the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education (CAHME) programaddresses competency attainment related to Professionalism and Ethics using a number of non-systematic approaches. While flexibility is a certain benefit of the CAHME accreditation process, some standardization in the Professionalism and Ethics domain would serve the profession well. Withoutan agreed upon definition or set of minimum standards for Professionalism and Ethics, it is difficult to uniformly assess competency attainment in this critical area. A standardized definition or guideline is an essential starting point in our effort to meaningfully contribute to the attainmentof Professionalism and Ethics competencies. This study illustrates the way in which programs are meeting accreditation requirements with varied approaches and makes recommendations to move the field toward a deeper understanding competencies within the Professionalism and Ethics domain.
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