Assessing professional behaviour and the role of academic advice at the Maastricht Medical School

Due to changes in theposirion of healthcare workers, greater emphasis shoul d be placed on the assessment of the humanistic qualities of professional b ehaviour. To achieve this, students must receive feedback on their professi onal behaviour in different situations relevant to future practice. In the Maastricht Medical School if means that from the first year till the clerks hips professional behaviour of students is assessed experimentally for judg ements and feedback in different educational settings. The criteria of thos e judgements are discussed in this paper. Unprofessional behaviour during c lerkships is reported to the academic adviser or to the examination committ ee or both. The academic adviser offers support to find solutions for the s tudent when needed. The examination committee judges the severity of the pr oblem and will act accordingly. Good collaboration between the academic adv iser and the examination committee is necessary to cope with the problem of inadequate professional behaviour.