Changes in perception of and participation in unprofessional behaviors during internship.
BACKGROUND
Do perceptions of and participation in unprofessional behaviors change during internship?


METHODS
Interns at three Chicago medicine residencies anonymously reported participation in unprofessional behaviors before and after internship. On the basis of a prior survey, interns rated 28 unprofessional behaviors from 1 (unprofessional) to 5 (professional). Site-adjusted regression examined changes in participation rates and perception scores.


RESULTS
Response rates were 93% (105) before and 88% (99) after internship. Participation in on-call unprofessional behaviors increased ("blocking" admissions [12% versus 41%, P < .001], disparaging the ER [27% versus 45%, P = .005], misrepresenting tests as urgent to expedite care [40% versus 60%; P = .003], and signing out by phone [20% versus 42%, P < .001]). Participation in egregious behaviors (fraud, disrespect, misrepresentation) and perceptions of most behaviors remained unchanged.


CONCLUSIONS
Although participation in egregious unprofessional behavior remained unchanged during internship, participation in on-call unprofessional behaviors increased.
Arora
Vineet M
VM
varora@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Wayne
Diane B
DB
Anderson
R Andy
RA
Didwania
Aashish
A
Farnan
Jeanne M
JM
Reddy
Shalini T
ST
Humphrey
Holly J
HJ
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002641:Chicago; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007388:Internal Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics*; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000941:ethics*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D028743:Professional Misconduct / Q000941:ethics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires