The Academy for Professionalism in Health Care

The purpose of the Academy for Professionalism in Health Care (APHC) is to optimize patient care through
professionalism education, scholarship, policy, and practice in all health-related fields.

Read More

Join APHC

Connect with educators and researchers from around the world working to promote professionalism in health care

Join Today

APHC Members Only

Professionalism Education Roundtable

2nd Friday each month 3-4 p.m. ET – Discussion with article and book authors
More Information
Roundtable Videos (for members only)

Career Posts
APHC members can post their career opportunities on the new Career Posts page of the website.

Scholarship Corner
Contact us about featuring your book or research.

info@academy-professionalism.org

Remember Evil: Remaining Assumptions In Autonomy-based Accounts Of Conscience Protection

Discussions of the proper role of conscience and practitioner judgement within medicine have increased of late and with good reason. The cost of allowing practitioners the space to exercise their best judgement and act according to their conscience is significant. Misuse of such protections carve out societal space in which abuse, discrimination, abandonment of patients and simple malpractice might occur. These concerns are offered amid a backdrop of increased societal polarization and are about a profession (or set of professions) which has historically fought for such privileged space. There is a great deal that has been and might yet be said about these topics, but in this paper author Bryan Pilkington addresses one recent thread in this discussion: the justification of conscience protection rooted in autonomy.

Pilkington, B. C. (2019). Remember Evil: Remaining Assumptions In Autonomy-based Accounts Of Conscience Protection. Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 1-6. DOI: 10.1007/s11673-019-09949-7

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11673-019-09949-7

Medical Professionalism Across Cultures: A Literature Review

This review aims to identify the cultural perspectives of medical professionalism by identifying relevant literature from the Middle East, East/South Asia and the Western world that discuss definitions. A literature search was conducted using the "Summon" search engine, and 200 articles sorted by relevancy were manually reviewed. Based on the surveys and documents gathered from each of the regions, the definitions seem to be fairly consistent in their recognition of characteristics important to the concept of medical professionalism. These include several characteristics, with some of the most common being personal character, respect for patient autonomy, responsibility and social obligations; the main difference lies in emphasis with the West focusing on societal issues and patient rights, the Middle East focusing on morality and personal character, and East Asia focusing on respect, responsibility and other duties. These differences are reviewed, and the cultural sources are further expanded upon.

Yasin, L., Stapleton, G. R., & Sandlow, L. J. (2019). Medical Professionalism Across Cultures: A Literature Review. MedEdPublish, 8(3). doi: 10.15694/mep.2019.000191.1

Download and read the APHC Statement on Racism and Racial Violence

Save the Date for our Virtual Conference
Friday, February 19, 2021 11:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. ET

Professionalism and Trust in Health Care During a Crisis

More information coming soon.

Keynotes
Dr. Adina Kalet - Can We Educate Physicians to Be Trustworthy? It Depends.
Dr. Pat Werhane - Organizational Ethics and Improving Patient Trust

1. Enhancing Trust through Professionalism Development in Doctor of Nursing Practice Students

2. Learning to Trust One Another: What's Most Important for Training Interprofessional Faculty in Humanism and Professionalism?

3. Professionalism, Moral Injury and Burnout: Restoring trust in the patient-physician relationship

4. Teaching health professions students to practice humility as a means to systemic change: a proposal for building trust and trustworthiness

5. Teaching Trust and Professionalism Through Health Humanities Research

6. The Futility of Bravado: Medically Inappropriate Treatment is Not the Path to Trust

7. The Inextricable Link Between Professionalism and Trust

8. The Presumptions of Trust and the Practice of Demonstrating Trustworthiness: Lessons from a Residency Training Program

9. The Uncertain Path: Building Inter-team Trust in Complex Decision Making

10. Trust at Stake - Advocating For An At-Risk Community: A Case Study

APHC 2020 & 2021 Sponsorship Opportunities
Please consider supporting APHC.

Many thanks to our 2020 & 2021 Conference Sponsors

Platinum Circle
AMA Journal of Ethics

Gold Circle
Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, Loyola University Chicago Bioethics Institute, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and American Board of Medical Specialties

Silver Circle
Center for Christian Bioethics Loma Linda University Health and Penn State College of Medicine

APHC/Professional Formation Resources

Professional Formation Modules
During Covid-19 when many courses are online, Professional Formation offers 13 modules about professionalism on a variety of topics, which are free for a limited time. Share modules on social justice teams, compassion and resilience, moral distress and moral courage, confidentiality, boundaries, empathy and more. Sign up for the free modules at: https://bit.ly/ProfessionalFormationSignUp Watch webinars with module authors: http://www.professionalformation.org/webinars.htm

Podcasts
Listen to leaders talk about professionalism topics. The podcast, Healthcare Professionalism: Education, Research & Resources. You can find the episodes at https://bit.ly/PF-APHC-Podcast

Newsletters Articles

The Professional Formation Newsletter, a joint venture of the Academy for Professionalism in Health Care and ProfessionalFormation.org (PFO), seeks to advance conversations and perspectives on the practice, education, and research of clinical professionalism as it evolves. All issues are available in the News & Newsletters tab in the Document Library.