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Can the younger generations embrace professionalism as physicians?

This post courtesy of Anne Taylor-Vaisey: Here is an article on professionalism, from the April 2005 issue of American Journal of Medicine:

Smith LG. Medical professionalism and the generation gap. Am J Med 2005; 118(4):439-442.
Excerpt: In recent years, medical professionalism has been scrutinized by physicians, educators, medical literature, and the media. The result of this examination is a generally accepted consensus that professionalism is decreasing in medicine due to a failure to satisfy patient and societal expectations as well as a loss of the medical profession's dedication to its core values. This seeming deterioration has placed increased pressure on physician educators to measure professionalism among physicians-in-training.

Criticism regarding professionalism in medicine has often focused on younger physicians, members of a generation that appear to many older physicians as uniquely unprofessional. This younger generation, with its focus on personal lifestyle and balance, appears to lack the intrinsic virtues necessary for the medical profession. The conflict between generations accentuates the "crisis of professionalism" and has the potential to divide the profession along generational lines, creating many unintended and negative consequences.

PubMed link

This post courtesy of Anne Taylor-Vaisey: Here is an article on professionalism, from the April 2005 issue of American Journal of Medicine:

Smith LG. Medical professionalism and the generation gap. Am J Med 2005; 118(4):439-442.
Excerpt: In recent years, medical professionalism has been scrutinized by physicians, educators, medical literature, and the media. The result of this examination is a generally accepted consensus that professionalism is decreasing in medicine due to a failure to satisfy patient and societal expectations as well as a loss of the medical profession's dedication to its core values. This seeming deterioration has placed increased pressure on physician educators to measure professionalism among physicians-in-training.

Criticism regarding professionalism in medicine has often focused on younger physicians, members of a generation that appear to many older physicians as uniquely unprofessional. This younger generation, with its focus on personal lifestyle and balance, appears to lack the intrinsic virtues necessary for the medical profession. The conflict between generations accentuates the "crisis of professionalism" and has the potential to divide the profession along generational lines, creating many unintended and negative consequences.

PubMed link

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