Your professionalism is not my professionalism: congruence and variance in the views of medical students and faculty about professionalism.
BACKGROUND
Medical professionalism is an essential aspect of medical education and practice worldwide and it must be adopted according to different social and cultural contexts. We examined the current congruence and variance in the perception of professionalism in undergraduate medical students and faculty members in one medical school in Saudi Arabia.


METHODS
The target population was first year to final year medical students of College of Medicine, King Saud University. Out of a total of 1431 students at College of Medicine 750 students (52 %) participated in the study. Fifty faculty members from clinical and non-clinical departments of the College of Medicine were randomly selected for this study and all participated in the study. The respondents recorded their responses through the Bristol online survey system, using a bilingual (English and Arabic) version of the Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory I: Academic integrity, which has 34 items.


RESULTS
There are 17 lapses (50 % of the total) in professional behaviour where none of the faculty recommend the ignore sanction while students recommended a variable ignore sanction in a range of 6-29 % for different behaviours. Students and faculty recommended similar sanctions for 5 lapses (14.7 % of the total) in professional behaviours. Furthermore, there is statistically significant two level difference between the sanctions approved by faculty and students in the recommended sanctions for 12 lapses (35 % of the total (p < 0.050).


CONCLUSIONS
These results raised concerns in relation to the students' understanding of professionalism. It is therefore, important to enhance their learning around the attributes of medical professionalism.
Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Kamran
K
Sattar
Center for Medical Education, University of Dundee, Scotland, UK.
Sue
S
Roff
Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2925, Riyadh, 11461, Saudi Arabia. sultanmeo@hotmail.com.
Sultan Ayoub
SA
Meo
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D000068616:Professionalism; D012529:Saudi Arabia; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Congruence and variance; Medical students; Professionalism