Moral Elevation, Physician Role Models, and Selected Markers of Professional Identity Formation and Well-Being: A Secondary Analysis from Two National Surveys.

OBJECTIVES: Moral elevation is the underlying emotion that arises when witnessing admirable acts, and it is theorized to be the psychological mechanism driving the impact that positive clinical role models have on medical students' professional identity formation (eg, growth in professional virtues, higher sense of meaning, and well-being). This proof-of-concept study explores the development of the Moral Elevation Scale in Medicine by testing the association of moral elevation with various markers of professional identity formation. METHODS: A secondary data analysis of two nationally representative samples of 960 medical students and 2000 physicians was performed. Respondents completed validated measures of moral elevation as well as markers of professional identity formation, including patient-centered virtues (empathic compassion, interpersonal generosity, mindfulness) and measures of well-being (life meaning, life satisfaction, spirituality, burnout). RESULTS: The study obtained adjusted response rates of 56.2% (1047/1863, physician survey) and 48.7% (448/919, student survey). The national estimates for mean moral elevation in medical students and physicians are 4.34/5.00 and 4.22/5.00, respectively. In medical students and physicians, high moral elevation was associated with higher empathic compassion (student odds ratio [OR] 1.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02-1.67; physician OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.23-1.65) and, similarly, generosity. In addition, higher moral elevation in the physician cohort was associated with greater life meaning (OR 2.03, 95% CI 1.25-3.32) and similarly spirituality. CONCLUSIONS: In medical students and practicing physicians, self-reported experiences of high moral elevation with physician role models were associated with higher self-reported measures of patient-centered virtues, spirituality, and life meaning. Our Moral Elevation Scale in Medicine demonstrates preliminary promise as a measure to assess environmental precursors needed for virtue development in professional identity formation, but further reliability and validity testing of this measure is needed.

Making explicit the development of PhD-prepared nurses to steward the discipline.

Leadership is a core curricular element of PhD programs in nursing. Our PhD faculty began a dialogue about being a leader, a steward of the discipline. We asked ourselves: (a) What expertise do PhD prepared nurse needs to begin to steward the discipline? (b) How do faculty engage PhD nursing students to assume responsibility for stewarding the discipline? Lastly, (c) How do we work with PhD nursing students to create their vision for how their work contributes to stewarding the discipline, from doctoral coursework throughout their career? We support the need for PhD graduates to have the skills to generate knowledge, conserve that which is important, and transform by disseminating new knowledge to a broad audience. Examples of nurses stewarding the discipline when pioneering research, critiquing traditional approaches to inquiry or trends in nursing practice, and developing policy, are highlighted along with examples of how PhD nursing students begin to steward the discipline.

Why Tolerate Conscientious Objections in Medicine.

Most arguments about conscientious objections in medicine fail to capture the full scope and complexity of the concept before drawing conclusions about their permissibility in practice. Arguments favoring and disfavoring the accommodation of conscientious objections in practice tend to focus too narrowly on prima facie morally contentious treatments and religious claims of conscience, while further failing to address the possibility of moral perspectives changing over time. In this paper, I argue that standard reasons against permitting conscientious objections in practice-that their permission may result in harm to patients, the idea that medical providers willingly enter into the medical field, and that conscientious objections stand contrary to medical professionalism-do not apply in all cases and that the medical field and health systems in which many physicians now practice should continue to tolerate conscientious objections in practice.

Determining Grades in the Internal Medicine Clerkship: Results of a National Survey of Clerkship Directors.

PURPOSE: Trust in and comparability of assessments are essential in clerkships in undergraduate medical education for many reasons, including ensuring competency in clinical skills and application of knowledge important for the transition to residency and throughout students' careers. The authors examined how assessments are used to determine internal medicine (IM) core clerkship grades across U.S. medical schools. METHODS: A multisection web-based survey of core IM clerkship directors at 134 U.S. medical schools with membership in the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine was conducted in October through November 2018. The survey included a section on assessment practices to characterize current grading scales used, who determines students' final clerkship grades, the nature/type of summative assessments, and how assessments are weighted. Respondents were asked about perceptions of the influence of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Medicine Subject Examination (MSE) on students' priorities during the clerkship. RESULTS: The response rate was 82.1% (110/134). There was considerable variability in the summative assessments and their weighting in determining final grades. The NBME MSE (91.8%), clinical performance (90.9%), professionalism (70.9%), and written notes (60.0%) were the most commonly used assessments. Clinical performance assessments and the NBME MSE accounted for the largest percentage of the total grade (on average 52.8% and 23.5%, respectively). Eighty-seven percent of respondents were concerned that students' focus on the NBME MSE performance detracted from patient care learning. CONCLUSIONS: There was considerable variability in what IM clerkships assessed and how those assessments were translated into grades. The NBME MSE was a major contributor to the final grade despite concerns about the impact on patient care learning. These findings underscore the difficulty in comparing learners across institutions and serve to advance discussions for how to improve accuracy and comparability of grading in the clinical environment.

Survey of doctors' perception of professional values.

BACKGROUND: New challenges in the medical field of the third millennium emphasise the "humanization of medicine" leading to a redefinition of doctors' values, limits and roles. The study aims to assess whether there are different personality dimensions of physicians in relation to their perception of professional values and public expectations. METHODS: A questionnaire on the perception of professional values and the opinion on work in the medical field, work relationships and public expectations was administered to 374 doctors attending Continuing Medical Education courses. RESULTS: Two personality dimensions were identified: the first dimension (which we termed "Performance Attainment") is associated preeminently with values of competence, advocacy, confidentiality, spirit of enquiry, integrity, responsibility and commitment; the second dimension (which we called "Personal Involvement") focuses on concern and compassion. The doctors that have more difficulty accepting judgements on their activity are those who think that "Performance attainment" is less important (ß = 6.01; p-value = 0.007). Instead, the doctors who believe "public expectation of the health system" is not high enough, tend to think that "Performance Attainment" is more important (ß = -6.08; p-value = 0.024). The less importance is given to the values of "Personal Involvement", the less is the doctor's perception of having a leading role in respect to other health professionals (ß = -2.37; p-value = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that there are two different attitudes in terms of recognition and selection of the essential values to better practice the medical profession. Whether the doctors attach more importance to one dimension or the other, they do not differ in our analysis for how they answered the questions about relationships with patients, colleagues or family commitments in the questionnaire, even if they work in different areas. This suggests that in our research there is no single personal attitude that characterizes "a good doctor".

New Knowledge for the Profession: Case for Using Nursing Theory.

First, the authors of this column reiterate the need for using nursing theory as a foundation for nursing research and practice. A study underpinned by Johnson's behavioral model is presented as an excellent example of the use of nursing theory to guide research in the care of people with heart failure.

Accent bias: A barrier to Black African-born nurses seeking managerial and faculty positions in the United States.

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of Black African-born nurses (BABN) with non-native accents regarding their nursing career advancement in the United States. Data were collected using individual interviews. Fifteen nurses originally from three sub-Saharan African countries were included in the study. The findings were reported under six themes: perceived low level of intelligence, not suitable to lead, making fun of/belittling, prejudging without evidence, downgrading, and accent modification. The finding indicated that participants believed that their race and accent influenced their professional nursing opportunities. These results are relevant to BABNs, nurse educators, and healthcare organization leaders. BABNs are capable of participating in nursing leadership and education despite their non-native accent.

Authentic leadership among nursing professionals: knowledge and profile.

OBJECTIVES: to identify the knowledge of nursing professionals about leadership models and evaluate the authentic leadership profile among them. METHODS: analytical study, conducted between August and December 2015, involving 84 nursing professionals working in a public and tertiary hospital. We used two instruments: Sociodemographic Questionnaire with questions about leadership and the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire. RESULTS: both nurses and nursing technicians were unaware of authentic leadership. Both pointed to communication, planning, and organization as competencies of the leader (n = 58, 95%). Regarding the authentic leadership profile, we observed that the score was "high" among nurses and "low" among technicians. Holding a leadership position and professionally upgrading has positively influenced the highest-profile of authentic leadership. CONCLUSIONS: nurses demonstrated to know behavioral leadership, while nursing technicians showed knowledge about situational leadership. Nurses had a high score of authentic leadership behaviors, while nursing technicians had a low score, but we found no significant difference between them. Holding a leadership position and professionally upgrading has positively influenced the highest profile of authentic leadership.

Militancy of nurses in the institutionality field: printed media versions.

OBJECTIVES: to analyze nurses' professional militancy in the institutionality field, presented by the printed media from Bahia State in the 1970s and 1980s. METHODS: a historical and qualitative research under Social History's perspective, whose data source was the newspaper A Tarde. The temporal cut-off encompasses milestones such as professional body restructuring and creation. RESULTS: the Associação Brasileira de Enfermagem democratization movement was reported in a superficial way, highlighting the struggle for power spaces. With respect to Conselhos Federal e Regional de Enfermagem daBahia, the newspaper notified creation and function of bodies, however, there was no visibility to the newspaper's performance. Concerning the union, there was political fragility of nurses against the creation and union participation in the fight for labor rights. Final Considerations: organization of political action occurred from isolated groups mobilization of professionals who were already traveling in political spaces, not the large mass of professionals.

Comparison of professionalism between emergency medicine resident physicians and faculty physicians: A multicenter cross-sectional study.

Professionalism is a critical competency for emergency medicine (EM) physicians, and professional behavior affects patient satisfaction. However, the findings of various studies indicate that there are differences in the interpretation of professionalism among EM resident physicians and faculty physicians. Using a cross-sectional survey, we aimed to analyze common challenges to medical professionalism for Japanese EM physicians and survey the extent of professionalism coursework completed during undergraduate medical education. We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional survey of EM resident physicians and faculty physicians at academic conferences and eight teaching hospitals in Japan using the questionnaire by Barry and colleagues. We analyzed the frequency of providing either the best or second-best answers to each scenario as the main outcome measure and compared the frequencies between EM resident physicians and EM faculty physicians. Fisher's exact test and the Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to analyze data. A total of 176 physicians (86 EM resident physicians and 90 EM faculty physicians) completed the survey. The response rate was 92.6%. The most challenging scenario presented to participants dealt with sexual harassment, and only 44.5% chose the best or second-best answers, followed by poor responses to the confidentiality scenario (69.9%). The frequency of either the best or second-best responses to the confidentiality scenario was significantly greater for EM resident physicians than for EM faculty physicians (77.1% versus 62.9%, p = 0.048). More participants in the EM resident physician group completed formal courses in medical professionalism than those in the EM faculty physician group (25.8% versus 5.5%, p < 0.01). Further, EM faculty physicians were less likely than EM resident physicians to provide acceptable responses in terms of confidentiality, and few of both had received professionalism training through school curricula. Continuous professionalism education focused on the prevention of sexual harassment and gender gap is needed for both EM resident physicians and faculty physicians in Japan.

Professional identity and hospital-based registered nurses: A phenomenological study.

INTRODUCTION: Nurses continue to struggle to define their role as professionals in the hospital-setting often being represented in media as less competent than other health care providers. Paradoxically, an annual poll of the public consistently identifies nursing as the most trusted profession. This dichotomy of simultaneously being considered incompetent yet holding a high level of trust leads nurses to question their own professional identity. A gap exists in the literature about the professional identity of nurses who work directly with patients in the hospital environment. METHODOLOGY: Therefore, the aim of this interpretive phenomenology study was to describe the lived experience of nurses working with patients in the hospital environment and the meaning of this phenomenon as it relates to their professional identity. RESULTS: Four themes were identified: (a) being validated as an expert by providers within the healthcare system; (b) working well as a valued member of a team; (c) advocating for the patient's needs despite opposition; and (d) Valuing human-ness in the patient. IMPLICATIONS: The findings provide a deeper representation of the practice of hospital-based nurses and implications for Anchornurses to be empowered in their workplace.

Professional decision-making in medicine: Development of a new measure and preliminary evidence of validity.

INTRODUCTION: This study developed a new Professional Decision-Making in Medicine Measure that assesses the use of effective decision-making strategies: seek help, manage emotions, recognize consequences and rules, and test assumptions and motives. The aim was to develop a content valid measure and obtain initial evidence for construct validity so that the measure could be used in future research or educational assessment. METHODS: Clinical scenario-based items were developed based on a review of the literature and interviews with physicians. For each item, respondents are tasked with selecting two responses (out of six plausible options) that they would choose in that situation. Three of the six options reflect a decision-making strategy; these responses are scored as correct. Data were collected from a sample of 318 fourth-year medical students in the United States. They completed a 16-item version of the measure (Form A) and measures of social desirability, moral disengagement, and professionalism attitudes. Professionalism ratings from clerkships were also obtained. A sub-group (n = 63) completed a second 16-item measure (Form B) to pilot test the instrument, as two test forms are useful for pre-posttest designs. RESULTS: Scores on the new measure indicated that, on average, participants answered 75% of items correctly. Evidence for construct validity included the lack of correlation between scores on the measure and socially desirable responding, negative correlation with moral disengagement, and modest to low correlations with professionalism attitudes. A positive correlation was observed with a clerkship rating focused on professionalism in peer interactions. CONCLUSIONS: These findings demonstrate modest proficiency in the use of decision-making strategies among fourth-year medical students. Additional research using the Professional Decision-Making Measure should explore scores among physicians in various career stages, and the causes and correlates of scores. Educators could utilize the measure to assess courses that teach decision-making strategies.

Quality of contact counts: The development of interprofessional identity in first year students.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about how nursing and other healthcare students develop professional and interprofessional identities. OBJECTIVES: This study a) measures changes in students' professional and interprofessional identities between the start and end of a faculty-wide interprofessional first year programme, and b) identifies factors influencing interprofessional identity strength at the end of the programme. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and eight first year nursing, medicine and allied health students. METHODS: A single-group pre-post-test design was used. Students completed an online survey at the start and end of the year-long programme. The survey comprised measures of professional and interprofessional identity, stereotypes, contact and demographics. The same survey was used twice. RESULTS: There was a small decline in professional identity and a large decline in interprofessional identity across the year. Nursing students, the only group involved in clinical practicums, were exempt from the large fall in interprofessional identity. Quality of contact with students from other professions and autostereotypes about own profession were predictors of interprofessional identity strength at the end of the programme, consistent with intergroup contact theory. CONCLUSIONS: Introductory interprofessional education programmes should include opportunities for quality contact with students from other professions, and for students to develop a clear understanding of their own profession.

[The military health service in the process of modernization, bureaucratization and professionalization of the Argentine Army (1888-1938)]. / El servicio de sanidad militar en el proceso de modernización, burocratización y profesionalización del ejército argentino (1888-1938).

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, a process of modernization, bureaucratization and professionalization of the Argentine Army was initiated. As a result of this process, Army divisions were formed, which are autonomous military organizations composed of units of various weapons, combat support elements and services. Included among the latter was the military health service, which acted both in the operational units of the military districts in order to incorporate citizens into the Compulsory Military Service as well as in military hospitals. This article aims to: 1) characterize this process in relation to the concepts of defense, organization, functions and territorial deployment of the Army; 2) analyze, within that framework, the formation of the military health service between 1888 -when the Organic Law of the Sanitary Corp of the Army and the Navy was sanctioned - and 1938 - when the Army's organic design was changed on the eve of the Second World War.

Hacia fines del siglo XIX y principios del siglo XX se inició la modernización, burocratización y profesionalización del Ejército Argentino. Como resultado de ese proceso se conformaron las divisiones del Ejército, esto es, organizaciones militares autónomas entre sí, compuestas por unidades de diferentes armas, elementos de apoyo de combate y de servicios. Entre estos últimos estaba el de sanidad militar, que actuaba en las unidades operativas de los distritos militares para el reconocimiento de los ciudadanos para el Servicio Militar Obligatorio y en los hospitales militares. Este artículo tiene por objetivos: 1) caracterizar ese proceso en sus relaciones con las concepciones de la defensa, organización, funciones y despliegue territorial del Ejército; 2) analizar, en ese marco, la conformación del servicio de sanidad militar entre 1888, con la sanción de la Ley Orgánica del Cuerpo de Sanidad del Ejército y la Armada, y 1938, con los cambios en el diseño orgánico del Ejército en vísperas de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Diversity in Professionalism Framings Across U.S. Medical Boards.

Lapses in professionalism are a common cause of disciplinary action against physicians by U.S. medical boards. However, the exact definition of "professionalism" is unclear, making it likely that a physician will not train or practice under the same framing of professionalism and so may fail to develop certain skills. The goal of this study was to identify and compare the professionalism framings of medical boards. The medical board web pages for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four territories were examined in June 2017 for use of the word "professionalism" or "professional" in their application, rules, or laws, which was then coded as a best fit to one of six core framings of professionalism. Of the 55 states and territories, integrity was the most common professionalism framing (40.0%), followed by excellence (23.6%), behavior (12.7%), mixed (9.1%), unclear (9.1%), and absent (5.5%). Although integrity was the most common framing, diversity exists among medical boards, which could lead to board misunderstandings of incidents labeled as professionalism violations and ineffective remediation of offenses. In order to best communicate the nature of the offense and thus best facilitate remediation, the incident should be called by its true name rather than the all-encompassing term "professionalism."