Speaking the same language Cross-sectional assessment of perceived contributors to professionalism across generations

Background: Professionalism is integral to medical training and practice. Recent studies suggest generational differences in perceptions of professionalism, which have not been adequately explored in academic neurology. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to describe perceptions of professionalism among representative physicians across the academic training spectrum of neurology. A selfreport questionnaire adapted from a published instrument was distributed to students, residents, fellows, and faculty in neurology at a single institution. Responders rated 4 domains of professionalism: Personal Characteristics, Interactions with Patients, Social Responsibility, and Interactions with the Health Care Team (5-point Likert scale, not at all important to very important), and selected the 'top 2' characteristics critical to professional behavior in each domain. Results: A total of 296 of 312 (95%) responded, including 228 students, 24 residents, 19 fellows, and 25 faculty. Respondents ranked the following components to be important/very important contributors to the expression of professional behavior: Personal Characteristics (98%, mean rating 4.6 6 0.3), Interactions with Patients (97%, 4.6 6 0.4), and Interactions with the Health Care Team (96%, 4.6 6 0.5). Although mean ratings were high for Social Responsibility (4.3 6 0.6), only 82%indicated that this was important/very important in the expression of professionalism, with a gradual decline from students (4.4 6 0.6) to residents (3.99 6 0.8, p 5 0.02). The 'top 2' contributors to each domain were similar across responders. Conclusions: Professionalism was perceived as critically important across the academic training spectrum in neurology, and the view regarding the top contributors to the expression of professionalism remained consistent among the respondents.