Professionalism in Medicine: We Should Set the Standard

As military physicians we have a unique set of professional values that may differ from our civilian counterparts because we have both our professional responsibilities to our patients as well as our professional values as military officers. Our core military values provide a solid foundation to set the standard for professionalism in medicine. As educators for medical students, residents, and fellows we have an obligation to not only teach them the art of medicine but to mentor them as professional military officers. The objectives of this article are threefold: first to define professionalism, second to identify measurement tools, and finally to offer suggestions for documentation and remediation when problems of professionalism are identified among residents and fellows.