Professionalism in Healthcare

In most industries, an individual’s professionalism is measured by the extent to which they are trustworthy, reliable and can be counted on to follow through on their commitments. More than that however, professionalism in today’s workplace requires an element of self-confidence, self-motivation and the overall understanding and adherence to the norms and expectations of professional environments on the whole. In the healthcare setting, however, the qualities that constitute professionalism are even more important and require additional considerations over and above typical work environments. Healthcare providers require emotionally mature people to manage and operate their practice and demand that their staff behave professionally at all times. Moreover, an individual’s commitment to professionalism will command the respect and credibility required for success in a healthcare career.

Given the inherent nature and seriousness of the healthcare industry, it is expected that healthcare professionals maintain the utmost integrity and professionalism in dealing with patients, properly maintaining privacy standards and convey information to patients/clients in a way that is not only professional, but compassionate, understanding and, above all, informative. Healthcare professionals communicate important and complex information not only to fellow staff but to patients as well on a daily basis and must take into account the serious nature of the work they do and its effect on individual patients, families and other stakeholders. Maintaining the professionalism standards unique to the healthcare industry, in particular, will be absolutely vital for any healthcare career.

The Professionalism in Healthcare course provides students with a primer on professionalism in this unique industry. The course will address various elements inherent in professionalism to ensure students are ready to enter the professional workplace including etiquette, image, manners, communication (verbal, non-verbal and written), professional relationships, responsibility and accountability, respectfulness, privacy considerations and requirements as well as empathy, compassion and emotional maturity specific to the healthcare setting.

The Professionalism in Healthcare course will address the following primary course objectives:

• Describe the importance of professionalism in Healthcare and the characteristics of Healthcare professionals
• Discuss the importance of character, values, morals, ethics, and other personal traits at work
• Outline the elements of effective interpersonal relationships, teamwork, and working well with other people
• Discuss cultural competence and customer service as related to patient care