Survey of the importance of professional behaviors among medical students, residents, and attending physicians.

OBJECTIVE

The authors compared the importance of items related to professional behavior among medical students rotating through their psychiatry clerkship, psychiatry residents, and attending psychiatrists.

METHOD

The authors sent an electronic survey with 43 items (rated on the scale 1: Not at All Important; to 5: Very Important) to medical students, psychiatry residents, and attending psychiatrists at one academic center.

RESULTS

Medical students rated several items in the categories Personal Characteristics and Interactions With Patients significantly less important than did residents and attending psychiatrists. Both medical students and attending psychiatrists rated the category Social Responsibility significantly less important than did residents.

CONCLUSION

All three groups surveyed rated the majority of items as Important or Very Important, indicating that they value professional behavior. Resident physicians had the highest mean score in every category measured. Overall, medical students rated most items related to professionalism as less important than the two other groups surveyed.