Assessment of Professionalism in Medical Residents from the Perspective of Interns in Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2017

Background and Objectives: Professionalism includes behaviors, actions, and goals that determine the professional level of an individual. The assessment of the professionalism of learners can help to estimate and determine educational needs and priorities, as well as further interventions. As future faculty members and experts, residents play an important role in the practical education of behavior and scientific commitment of medical students. Therefore, for the first time, this study aimed to evaluate the professionalism of residents from the perspective of interns. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 138 interns at Kashan University of Medical Sciences in 2017. The research tool was the Persian and edited version of the 15-item questionnaire designed by the American Board of Internal Medicine for the evaluation of professionalism. The mean and standard deviation were estimated related to total scores of professionalism and three domains of excellence, honor/integrity, as well as altruism/respect. Moreover, the relationship between reported scores and demographic characteristics was determined. Results: Out of 150 distributed questionnaires, 138 questionnaires were analyzed in this study. The total score and three domains of excellence, honor/integrity, and altruism/respect were estimated at 6.07±1.53, 4.24±1.87, 6.56±2.03, and 6.83±1.73, respectively. Conclusion: In total, the professionalism of residents was moderate from the perspective of interns. Among the three assessed domains, the lowest and highest scores were related to the domains of excellence and altruism/respect, respectively. The low score of excellence reminded the absence of residents as role models. With respect to the hidden educational curriculum and its impact on the formation of professional behavior of students, it seems crucial to plan in this regard.