Toward a normative definition of medical professionalism

In recent years, professionalism in medicine has gained increasing attentio n. Many have called for a return to medical professionalism as a way to res pond to the corporate transformation of the U.S. health care system. Yet th ere is no common understanding of what is meant by the word professionalism . To encourage dialog and to arrive eventually at some consensus, one needs a normative definition. The author proposes such a definition and asserts that the concept of medical professionalism must be grounded both in the na ture of a profession and in the nature of physicians' work. Attributes of m edical professionalism reflect societal expectations as they relate to phys icians' responsibilities, not only to individual patients but to wider comm unities as well. The author identifies nine behaviors that constitute medic al professionalism and that physicians must exhibit if they are to meet the ir obligations to their patients, their communities, and their profession. (For example, "Physicians subordinate their own interests to the interests of others.") He argues that physicians must fully comprehend what medical p rofessionalism entails. Serious negative consequences will ensue if physici ans cease to exemplify the behaviors that constitute medical professionalis m and hence abrogate their responsibilities both to their patients and to t heir chosen calling.