Professionalism and professional values in orthopaedics

During a consensus conference in Fall, 1998, the Academic Orthopaedic Socie ty identified the values and qualities of professionalism as defined by its members. One hundred eighty-sig respondents rated 20 characteristics and v alues describing professionalism, based on the extent to which they believe d each item was appropriate. The five items receiving highest average ratin gs were: integrity, trustworthiness, responsibility, reliability, and accou ntability. Principal components analysis yielded five factors that captured 62% of the total variability. These factors were labeled respect and relat ionships, altruism, accountability and reliability, integrity, and excellen ce, The authors anticipate that the Academic Orthopaedic Society will find these data useful, and incorporate this information into their decisions co ncerning evaluation of current residents and applicants to their programs. An additional challenge will be to develop a values curriculum (formal curr iculum) and a learning environment (informal curriculum) that will encourag e residents and faculty to aspire to the highest in professional values and professional conduct.