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Medical Professionalism and Human Rights Teaching Module

By working to incorporate medical professionalism in the academic setting, medical students will become better informed and more effective health professionals.

PHR works with universities to integrate human rights in preclinical and clinical education through elective or other more formal curricula to their institutions. For more information see our Health and Human Rights toolkit. [9]

Activities

To increase physicians’ ability to prioritize their patients’ welfare and autonomy and promote social justice – the three fundamental principles of the Physician Charter – physicians must become more aware of their implicit beliefs.  Unacknowledged biases can lead to subtle discrimination in care.  This Harvard survey [8] is an opportunity to reveal and examine our hidden prejudices.

Discussion guide

1) How do you think medical professionalism can be incorporated into the academic setting?

2) Please give examples to how each of the 3 fundamental principles of the ABIM Physician Charter can be implemented.

3) What Physician Charter principles and commitments both parallel and strengthen a rights-based approach, and how does it go about doing so?

4) What does AAAQ stand for? Please give an example for each letter by stating the discrepancies in health and a possible solution for each one.

5) What are the environmental forces that inhibit and undermine physician capacity to fulfill obligations?

6) How can payment policies be reformed to sustain and promote medical professionalism?

Power Point

This power point [10] features a more in depth look at medical professionalism and highlights the ideas outlined in the Physicians Charter.

Extra Readings

“Toward a Normative Definition of Medical Professionalism” [11] by Herbert M. Swick, MD

“Transforming Medical Professionalism to Fit Changing Health Needs” [12] by Thomas Plochg, Niek S Klazinga, and Barbara Starfield

“Incorporating Professionalism into Medical Education: The Mayo Clinic Experience” [7] by Paul S. Mueller

“What Would a Good Doctor Do? Reflections on the Ethics of Medicine” [6] by Ronald Mackenzie, MD

“The Risks of Rewards in Health Care: How Pay-for-Performance could Threaten, or Bolster, Medical Professionalism” [2] by Matthew K. Wynia, MD, MPH

“Professionalism and Medicine” [1] by C. Ronald MacKenzie, MD

“Preparing Medical Students for the World: Service Learning and Global Health Justice” [3] by Kayhan Parsi, JD, PhD and Justin List, MAR

“Ethics in Practice: Managed Care and the Changing Health Environment. Medicine as a Profession Managed Care Ethics Working Group Statement” [4] by Gail J. Povar [5], MD, Helen Blumen [13], MD, John Daniel [14], MD, Suzanne Daub [22], MSW, Lois Evans [23], DNSc, RN, Richard P. Holm [24], MD, Natalie Levkovich [25], Alice O. McCarter [21], MSW,

James Sabin [20], MD, Lois Snyder [16], JD, Daniel Sulmasy [15], OFM, MD, PhD, Peter Vaughan [17], PhD, Laurence D. Wellikson [18], MD, Amy Campbell [19], JD; and the Medicine as a Profession Managed Care Ethics Working Group

Application of the Physician Charter

PHR works with Massachusetts health professional schools to create a cadre of advocates to highlight continued challenges in access to care for the poor and immigrants in Massachusetts. The principles entailed in ABIM’s Physician Charter are useful when considering the design of new programs.  For more information, visit our MA Health Access toolkit. [26]