The path to professionalism: Cultivating humanistic values and attitudes in residency training

Though few question the importance of incorporating professionalism and hum anism in the training of physicians, traditional residency programs have gi ven little direct attention to the processes by which professional and huma nistic values, attitudes, and behaviors are cultivated. The authors discuss the underlying philosophy of their primary care internal medicine residenc y program, in which the development of professionalism and humanism is an e xplicit educational goal. They also describe the specific components of the program designed to create a learner-centered environment that supports th e acquisition of professional values; these components include a communicat ion-skills training program, challenging-case conferences, home visits with patients, a resident support group, and a mentoring program. The successfu l ten-year history of the program shows how a residency program can enable its trainees to develop not only the requisite excellent diagnostic and tec hnical tools and skills but also the humane and professional attributes of the fully competent physician.