Which values do attending physicians try to pass on to house officers?

Context Professional development in medicine includes the acquisition of va lues and attitudes which are fundamental to the role of the physician. Litt le is known about which values and attitudes attending physicians emphasize in their teaching of medical trainees to help them develop professionally. Objective To determine the values and attitudes which attending physicians try to pass on to residents in order to encourage their professional develo pment. Design Cross-sectional study using a mailed survey. Setting Four university-affiliated teaching hospitals. Subjects Attending physicians with residency-level teaching responsibilitie s. Measurements The self-reported single value or attitude that attending phys icians try to pass on to house officers. Results Of the 341 attending physicians who returned a completed questionna ire, 265 (78%) shared the single value or attitude they try to pass on to r esidents. The four main categories into which more than 95% of responses co uld be categorized were: (i) caring, (ii) respect, (iii) communication and (iv) integrity. There were no statistically significant differences between the responses given by attending physicians who had been named as excellen t role models and their colleagues who had not been so named. Conclusions Attending physicians attempt to pass on values and attitudes th ey consider important for the professional development of medical trainees. Future research might focus on optimal ways to teach these qualities to me dical learners.