Descriptors for unprofessional behaviours of medical students: a systematic review and categorisation

BMC Medical Education

Research Article

Joyce Kors¹  Walther van Mook²  Rashmi Kusurkar³  Stéphanie van der Burgt³  Gerda Croiset³  Marianne Mak-van der Vossen⁴  Johannes C.F. Ket⁵ 

[1] AVAG Midwifery Academy Amsterdam Groningen, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Medical Education Development and Research, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands;Department of Research in Education, VUmc School of Medical Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;LEARN! Research Institute for Education and Learning, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;Department of Research in Education, VUmc School of Medical Sciences, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;LEARN! Research Institute for Education and Learning, VU University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;Department for General Practice and Elderly Care Management, VU Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;Medical Library, University Library, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;

关键词: Medical education;    Medical students;    Humanities;    Professionalism;    Unprofessional behaviour;    Professional misconduct;    Systematic review;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12909-017-0997-x

 received in 2017-03-15, accepted in 2017-09-04,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundDeveloping professionalism is a core task in medical education. Unfortunately, it has remained difficult for educators to identify medical students’ unprofessionalism, because, among other reasons, there are no commonly adopted descriptors that can be used to document students’ unprofessional behaviour. This study aimed to generate an overview of descriptors for unprofessional behaviour based on research evidence of real-life unprofessional behaviours of medical students.MethodsA systematic review was conducted searching PubMed, Ebsco/ERIC, Ebsco/PsycINFO and Embase.com from inception to 2016. Articles were reviewed for admitted or witnessed unprofessional behaviours of undergraduate medical students.ResultsThe search yielded 11,963 different studies, 46 met all inclusion criteria. We found 205 different descriptions of unprofessional behaviours, which were coded into 30 different descriptors, and subsequently classified in four behavioural themes: failure to engage, dishonest behaviour, disrespectful behaviour, and poor self-awareness.ConclusionsThis overview provides a common language to describe medical students’ unprofessional behaviour. The framework of descriptors is proposed as a tool for educators to denominate students’ unprofessional behaviours. The found behaviours can have various causes, which should be explored in a discussion with the student about personal, interpersonal and/or institutional circumstances in which the behaviour occurred. Explicitly denominating unprofessional behaviour serves two goals: [i] creating a culture in which unprofessional behaviour is acknowledged, [ii] targeting students who need extra guidance. Both are important to avoid unprofessional behaviour among future doctors.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017