Assessment of professionalism among medical students at a regional university in Saudi Arabia.

Professionalism is the relationship that is built on trust between the medical profession and their community. We aim to assess the understanding and the perception of professionalism by the medical students at University of Bisha (UB) in Saudi Arabia. This was an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional study conducted among the medical students at UB. A validated questionnaire containing nine questions was distributed to all medical students. The questionnaire addresses the knowledge, attitudes, and perception toward professionalism. Out of the all 122 students studying at the university, 97 responded by filling the questionnaire giving a response rate of 79.5%. Most of the responders gave a positive attitude and perception when asked about presumed scenarios addressing professionalism. The majority of the participants (83.5%) mentioned that it is necessary for the medical student to wear lab coat in the hospital, 67.0% disagreed on medical student to wear accessories during work, and 67.0% disagreed to request your friend to sign on behalf of you when you are absent. Only 15.5% accepted to report on an incidence during daily activities or exam, and 72.2% did not accept to discuss patients issues in public. Most of the medical students enrolled in this study seems to have positive attitude and perception regarding professionalism.