Author/Authors :
Forouzadeh, Mina Medical Ethics Department - Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Kiani, Mehrzad Medical Ethics Department - School of Traditional Medicine - Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , Bazmi, Shabnam Medical Ethics Department - School of Traditional Medicine - Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Abstract :
Background: The honorable medical profession is on the verge of being reduced to a business. Evidence suggests that professionalism
is fading and today's doctors are faced with value-threatening problems and gradually begin to forget their main commitment as medical
professionals. Many of the problems faced by doctors are rooted in non-professionalism. Mere education in the science and practice of
medicine produces an inefficient medical workforce and leads to the formation of a distorted professional identity. In the past decade,
educational innovations targeting the formation of desirable professional identities have been presented and are considered a vital part
of medical education for the development of professionalism. The present study was conducted to examine the relationship between the
formation of professional identity and professionalism. Professionalism education is essential in the formation of a desirable professional
identity.
Methods: This review article was done in 2015 through searching databases, such as PubMed, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Ovid, SID,
and IranMedex, using keywords of professionalism and professional identity, and medical education. Among the 55 found articles, 30
were assessed and selected for review.
Results: The formation of professional identity is a process with the following domains: professionalism, and development of a personal
(psychosocial) and a cultural identity, which is derived from the unification of professional, personal, and ethical development.
The main components required for the formation of a desirable identity are, therefore, rooted in the dimensions of professionalism and
professional development. The need for teaching professionalism has a reciprocal relationship with the formation of professional identity.
Conclusion: There is a reciprocal relationship between formation of a desirable professional identity and development and strengthening
of professionalism. Modern medical education should be designed to develop professional identity, and professionalism acts as an
essential part of its curricula throughout the entire course of a doctor’s education, with the aim of acquiring a desirable professional
identity.
