Faculty Competencies: Professionalism

Professionalism is one of the seven domains of the Faculty Competencies resource. This domain includes six competencies and 35 behaviors.

The STFM Faculty Competencies Steering Committee and other contributors created the STFM Faculty Competencies, which describes the skills faculty need to effectively educate medical students and residents.The Faculty Competencies is broken down into seven categories ("domains"). Each domain consists of sub-categories ("competencies"), and each competency has several behaviors or skill targets for faculty to attain.

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Professionalism Competencies

Domain 7, Professionalism, consists of six competencies (authors in parenthesis):

  • Professional and Ethical Standards (Tina Kenyon, ACSW)
  • Well-being (Tina Kenyon, ACSW)
  • Cultural Awareness and Bias Mitigation (Ellen Tattelman, MD, and Tanya White-Davis, PsyD)
  • Culture of Safety, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (Tanya White-Davis, PsyD, and Ellen Tattelman, MD)
  • Advocacy (Brian Johnson, MD)
  • Professional Development and Mentorship (Bharat Gopal, MD MPH)

The behaviors for each competency are below, ranging in increasing skill level from Level A to Level D.

PDF VERSION OF THE PROFESSIONALISM DOMAIN
Professional and Ethical Standards
Well-Being
Cultural Awareness and Bias Mitigation
Culture of Safety, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Advocacy
Professional Development and Mentorship

Professional and Ethical Standards

Author: Tina Kenyon, ACSW

Level A

  • Identifies standards of professional and ethical behavior

Level B

  • Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior consistently

Level C

  • Demonstrates ethical and professional behavior when challenged with ethical dilemmas

Level D

  • Promotes individual and collective fulfillment of the highest values, obligations, and professional duties

AMA Ethical and Judicial Affairs - Code of Professional Ethical Standards

Resources

Parsa-Parsi RW. The International Code of Medical Ethics of the World Medical
Association. JAMA. 2022;328(20):2018-2021. doi: 10.1001/jama.2022.19697.

Duke University School of Medicine Code of Professional Conduct. https://medschool.duke.edu/education/health-professions-education-programs/learning-environment-well-being/code-professional.

Chiapponi C, Dimitriadis K, Özgül G, Siebeck RG, Siebeck M. Awareness of ethical issues in medical education: an interactive teach-the-teacher course. GMS J Med Educ. 2016;33(3):Doc45. doi: 10.3205/zma001044, URN: urn:nbn:de:0183-zma0010446. PDF: https://www.egms.de/static/en/journals/zma/2016-33/zma001044.shtml#References.

Conran RM, Powell SZ-E, Domen RE, et al. Development of Professionalism in
Graduate Medical Education: A Case-Based Educational Approach From the College of American Pathologists’ Graduate Medical Education Committee. Academic Pathology. 2018;5. doi:10.1177/2374289518773493.

Well-Being

Author: Tina Kenyon, ACSW

Level A

  • Identifies importance of physical, mental and emotional well-being for self and others

Level B

  • Self-reflects and discusses well-being strategies with others

Level C

  • Models and practices attention to well-being of self and others

Level D

  • Leads and demonstrates behaviors that enhance well-being outcomes for self and others

Resources

Mental Health and Well-Being Resources for Healthcare Workers.
https://www.theschwartzcenter.org/mentalhealthresources/.

Resources for Health Care Professionals. https://www.nami.org/your-journey/frontline-professionals/health-care-professionals/.

A Guide to Promoting Healthcare Workforce Well-Being (IHI).
https://wellbeingtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/IHI-Guide-to-Promoting-Health-Care-Workforce-Well-Being.pdf.

Cultural Awareness and Bias Mitigation

Authors: Ellen Tattelman, MD, and Tanya White-Davis, PsyD

Level A

  • Recognizes that each person has a unique cultural background
  • Recognizes that discrimination exists in medicine (e.g. racial, cultural, gender)

Level B

  • Defines concepts of implicit biases and micro-aggressions in self and others, and understands how these concepts impact learning environment, participants, and systems
  • Identifies potential implicit biases in work environment

Level C

  • Recognizes implicit biases and micro-aggressions in self and others
  • Openly acknowledges observations of implicit bias in self and others
  • Acts to mitigate the effects of implicit biases and micro-aggressions, assisting learners staff, and faculty to respond to individual incidents appropriately (e.g. utilizing tools such as bystander and upstander training)

Level D

  • Advocates for equity and contributes to institutional and/or professional organizational efforts to address workplace biases
  • Leads the organization to show improvement in reducing the incidences of bias and microaggressions

Resources

How to Identify, Understand, and Unlearn Implicit Bias in Patient Care. Jennifer Y C Edgoose, Michelle Quiogue, Kartik Sidhar. Fam Pract Manag. 2019;26(4):29-33.

Tackling Implicit Bias in Health Care. Sabin JA. N Engl J Med. 2022 Jul. 14; 387(2):105-107.

MedEdPORTAL. Becoming Active Bystanders and Advocates: Teaching Medical Students to Respond to Bias in the Clinical Setting. Michelle York, Kyle Langford, Mario Davidson, PhD, Celeste Hemingway, MD, Regina Russell, PhD, Maya Neeley, MD, Amy Fleming, MD, MHPE. MedEdPORTAL. 2021; 17: 11175.

Microintervention Strategies: What You Can Do to Disarm and Dismantle Individual and Systemic Racism and Bias. Derald Wing Sue, Cassandra Z. Calle, Narolyn Mendez, Sarah Alsaidi, Elizabeth Glaeser. ISBN: 978-1-119-76998-9 December 2020.

Culture of Safety, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Authors: Tanya White-Davis, PsyD, and Ellen Tattelman, MD

Level A

  • Acknowledges the importance of a culture of safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to build/enhance trust

Level B

  • Demonstrates how one’s values and behaviors enhance a culture of safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging and build/enhance trust

Level C

  • Leads others in the department and organization to align their values and behavior to nurture a culture of safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in order to build/enhance trust

Level D

  • Leads others outside the organization to align their values and behavior to nurture a culture of safety, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to build/enhance trust

Resources

https://arrow-journal.org/why-people-of-color-need-spaces-without-white-people/.

Adichie TED Talk. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en.

Community Healing and Resistance Through Storytelling: A Framework to Address Racial Trauma in Africana Communities. Chioneso N.A., Hunter C.D, Gobin R. L, McNiel-Smith S., Mendenhall R., & Neville H.A. Journal of Black Psychology. 2020 Mar;46(2-3) 95–121.

Advocacy

Author: Brian Johnson, MD

Level A

  • Recognizes faculty responsibility to advocate for patients, learners, medical education, and family medicine as a specialty

Level B

  • Advocates for patients, learners, medical education and family medicine when opportunities arise

Level C

  • Proactively develops advocacy skills and consistently acts as an advocate

Level D

  • Teaches advocacy skills and leads change at system, local or national level.

Resources

Hubinette, M., Dobson, S., Scott, I., & Sherbino, J. (2017). Health advocacy*. Medical Teacher, 39(2), 128–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2017.1245853.

Dobson, Sarah MSc; Voyer, Stephane MD; Hubinette, Maria MD; Regehr, Glenn PhD. From the Clinic to the Community: The Activities and Abilities of Effective Health Advocates. Academic Medicine 90(2):p 214-220, February 2015. | doi:
10.1097/ACM.0000000000000588.

Agrawal N, Lucier J, Ogawa R, Arons A. Advocacy Curricula in Graduate Medical
Education: an Updated Systematic Review from 2017 to 2022. J Gen Intern Med. 2023. Sep;38(12):2792-2807. doi: 10.1007/s11606-023-08244-x. Epub 2023 Jun 20. PMID: 37340255; PMCID: PMC10507002.

Online Advocacy Course produced by the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine
(STFM) with a focus on practical skills for governmental advocacy. Advocacy Course (stfm.org).

STFM Online Resources With a Focus on Family Medicine, but applicable to any type of governmental advocacy. Resources and Key Issues (stfm.org).

STFM Online Resources for Advocacy Within Medical Systems. Advocating Within Your Health System - Overview (stfm.org).

Professional Development and Mentorship

Author: Bharat Gopal, MD MPH

Level A

  • Recognizes the value of professional development
  • Recognizes need to seek mentorship
  • Reflects upon own performance

Level B

  • Engages in professional development activities
  • Engages a mentor and maintains an on-going mentorship relationship
  • Engages a mentor and maintains an on-going mentorship relationship

Level C

  • Creates and disseminates evidence-based professional development curricula
  • Develops personal mentorship skills Engages in ongoing self-reflection and self-improvement process

Level D

  • Leads professional development programs to promote continuous improvement
  • Provides effective mentorship for colleagues and learners
  • Models and supports colleagues in process of self-reflection and improvement

Resources

The processes and dimensions of informed self-assessment: a conceptual model:
Sargeant J, Armson H, Chesluk B, Dornan T, Eva K, Holmboe E, Lockyer J, Loney E, Mann K, van der Vleuten C. The processes and dimensions of informed self-assessment: a conceptual model. Academic Medicine. 2010 Jul 1; 85(7):1212-20. 2013-9-17-1.pdf (virginia.edu).

Group of articles on the importance of mentorship: Dalgaty F, Guthrie G, Walker H, Stirling K. The value of mentorship in medical education. The clinical teacher. 2017 Apr;14(2):124-8. The value of mentorship in medical education (thoracicrad.org).

Bhatnagar V, Diaz S, Bucur PA. The need for more mentorship in medical school. Cureus. 2020. May 6;12(5). 1612429716-1612429707-20210204-18268-1kk7lng.pdf (cureus.com).

Ng KYB, Lynch S, Kelly J, et alMedical students’ experiences of the benefits and influences regarding a placement mentoring programme preparing them for future practice as junior doctors: a qualitative study. BMJ Open 2020;10:e032643. doi: 10.1136/. bmjopen-2019-032643e032643.full.pdf (bmj.com).

Minor S, Bonnin R. What Do Medical Students Want From a Mentor? PRiMER. 2022 Sep 8; 6:36. doi: 10.22454/PRiMER.2022.552177. PMID: 36132540; PMCID: PMC9484528. What Do Medical Students Want From a Mentor? - PMC (nih.gov).

Deb, Lena, Shanaya Desai, Kaitlyn McGinley, Elisabeth Paul, Tamam Habib, Asim Ali, and Stanislaw Stawicki. 2022. ‘Mentorship in Postgraduate Medical Education’. Contemporary Topics in Graduate Medical Education - Volume 2. IntechOpen. doi:10.5772/intechopen.98612. Mentorship in Postgraduate Medical Education | IntechOpen.

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