Medical Professionalism

Abstract

The medical profession has a long history of defining ethical behavior and physician etiquette that in the western world begins in Greece in the fifth century BCE with Hippocrates. John Gregory and Thomas Percival codified these ideas in seventeenth-century England. The Code of Ethics of the AMA, first written in 1848, borrowed heavily from Percival and has since evolved into a set of nine principles of medical ethics, the first of which is “A physician shall be dedicated to providing competent medical care with compassion and respect for human dignity and rights.” Public perception of physicians has also evolved. The changing economics of medicine has made adherence to the values of medical professionalism more complicated, threatening the principles of medical ethics. This has led to including into the medical school core curriculum the concept of becoming a medical professional. Medical practice, human research, and medical professionalism are all based on at least three of four fundamental principles of bioethics: patient autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and social justice. These moral principles provide a framework for codes of ethical human research, medical practice, and the responsibilities of maintaining professionalism in patient care.