Professionalism When Following the Notion of Professionalism

Professionalism

When following the notion of professionalism in the world of work, there are eight factors one must apply. These factors are honesty and integrity, relability and responsibility, respect for others, compassion and empathy, self-improvement, self-awareness, communication and colloboration, and altruism and advocacy. The definitions of each of these factors and how the contribute and can be applied to professionalism will be discussed.

Honesty and integrity are two important terms to consider when dealing with patients. In the dictionary, honesty is defined as: "Not given to liest, theft, cheating. Not false or misleading." Integrity posts a similar definition: "firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values, or otherwise known as incorruptible." Since these two words are so similar, it can be concluded that one with honesty has integrity. Someone who has integrity and honesty always does what is morally right. A person who possesses honesty and integrity can become a great leaders others can follow in and have pride in because of the high ethics and standards this person upholds. This notion can be applied to the professional world as well because often times, when assisting patients, one is in a position of power. They require awareness of situations that may result in conflict of interest or that result in personal gain at the expense of the best interest of the patient. Hence, one must act with honesty and integrity in order to gain the patient's trust and do what is right in the professional world. Having honesty and integrity in the professional world must go beyond having these feelings just for patients. Honestyand integrity, in the professional world, are the consistent regard for the highest standards of behavior and the refusal to violate one's personal and professional codes, as well as respecting one's patients and one's peers. Hence, in order to be a good worker, one must use honesty and integrity to pormote the fact that one is being fair, being truthful, keeping one's word, meeting commitments, and being forthright in interactions with patients, peers, and in all professional work, whether through documentation, personal communication, presentations, research, or other aspects of interaction.

Reliability and responsibility are also important. The dictionary defines reliability as "one that may be relied upon; worty of confidence." Responsibility is defined as " the state of being responsible or accountable." In the professional world, this means being responsible for and accountable to others, and this must occur at a number of levels. First there must be accountability to one's patients, not only to children but also to their families. There must also be accountability to society to ensure that the public's needs are addressed. One must also be accountable to the profession to ensure that the ethical precepts of practice are upheld. Inherent in responsibility is reliability in completing assigned duties or fulfilling commitments. There must also be a willingness to accept responsibility for errors. One must also feel responsible toward one's peers, and help and assist other employees as one sees fit. Part of being responsible is sometimes taking care of and/or assisting other workers when they need help; this implies that one can be reliable.

The third important factor is respect for others. The dictionary defines respect as "to have defferential regard for, esteem." In the workplace, respect for others is the essence of humanism, and humanism is central to professionalism. This respect extends to all spheres of contact, including but not limited to patients, families, other physicians, and professional colleagues, including nurses, residents, fellows, and medical students. One must treat all persons with respect and regard for their individual worth and dignity. One must be fair and nondiscriminatory and be aware of emotional, personal, family, and cultural influences on patient well-being and patients' rights and choices of medical care. It is also a professional obligation to respect appropriate patient confidentiality. The most important factor and reason to demonstrate respect revolves around the fact that respect is a circulatory notion. Hence, if one demonstrates respect for others, one will eventually win over the respect of these people, putting one in a position of esteem.

The fourth important notion when implicating professionalism is compassion and empathy. Compassion, in the dictionary, is defined as "Pity for suffering, with desire to help." Empathy is defined as: "feeling the pain of another." In the workplace, compassion and empathy are crucial components of the practice of pediatrics. One must listen attentively and respond humanely to the concerns of patients and family members. One must always be interested in the problem, and eager to help assit the needs of the patient. Appropriate empathy for and relief of pain, discomfort, and anxiety should be part of the daily practice of medicine. One needs to understand the needs of the patient and be on the patient's level. This is important, especially when dealing with children, because the adult-child communication gap must be overcome.

The next important idea to be attentive to when practicing pediatrics is self-improvement. Self-impovement, in the dictionary, is defined as: "Improving, or making better, one's self and fallacies." In the working world, self-improvement is the pursuit of and commitment to providing the highest quality of health care through lifelong learning and education. One must seek to learn from errors and aspire to excellence through self-evaluation and acceptance of the critiques of others. It is important that one learns from one's mistakes and listens to the knoweldge and advice of others, which includes talking to peers and remaining informed of practices in the field by reading books and journals.

The sixth important aspect to consider when discussing professionalism is self-awareness and knoweldge. Self-awareness can be defined as "Awareness of the values and beliefs of the self." Knowledge can be defined as: "the education or intelligence one possesses." In the world of pediatrics, self-awareness and knowledge of limits includes recognition of the need for guidance and supervision when faced with new or complex responsibilities. One must also be insightful regarding the impact of one's behavior on others and cognizant of appropriate professional boundaries. Hence, it is always important to think before acting and discover knowledge about one's patient in order to perform the tasks at hand.