The Professionalism subcommittee of Japan Society for Medical Education has been examining a diverse range of issues related to medical professionalism education for approximately the past 20 years. In July 2015, the committee formulated and presented a draft on “ The Attributes and Competencies of Physicians: An Exploration of Professionalism” Based on this, we have been conducting educational activities on professionalism education, but we had not documented this draft. We are now re-presenting the draft here with minor lexical corrections and additional notes. The professionalism of physicians is delineated in seven attributes and competencies :1. Sense of mission and responsibility towards society2. Practice of patient-centered health care3. Demonstration of integrity and justice4. Acceptance of diverse values and sharing of fundamental values5. Fulfilling roles as leaders/members in organizations and teams6. Pursuit of excellence and lifelong learning7. Self-management and career developmentThis document is presented with the expectation that it will contribute to future discussions on professionalism education.

Addressing unprofessional behavior among medical students and residents presents a formidable challenge, characterized by the absence of straightforward solutions and a lack of established methodologies for remediation. Medical educators grapple with this issue, often experiencing physical and psychological strain. This seminar and workshop aimed to equip educators with fundamental strategies for managing students’ misconduct, featuring presentations from three universities pioneering innovative approaches within undergraduate education. Drawing from these insights, participants engaged in small group discussions, exchanging personal anecdotes and insights to glean actionable measures for immediate implementation in educational contexts. Below are the key highlights from each lecture and ensuing group deliberations.

In the revised Core Curriculum, professionalism is listed as one of the basic qualities and abilities required of physicians. The definition of professionalism and related learning objectives (1. trust, 2. compassion, 3. liberal arts, and 4. bioethics) are also presented. However, the Core Curriculum does not explain why these objectives were listed. Therefore, some of them are difficult to understand or differ from what has been discussed in previous meetings of the current subcommittee (and previous committees). To properly and effectively advance professionalism education, it is necessary to confirm the contents of the revised Core Curriculum that are insufficient or inappropriate. It is also necessary to deepen the discussion for the next revision of the Core Curriculum. A symposium was held for this purpose. The main points of each lecture are presented within this report.

With the enactment of the amended Anti-Discrimination Act, which mandates the provision of reasonable accommodations, the urgent task for all health professional education institutions is to establish a support system for students with developmental disabilities. On the other hand, they are also required to fulfill their social accountability through quality assurance in education, such as the implementation of outcome-based education curriculum. In order to consider how to balance reasonable accommodations for students with developmental disabilities, quality assurance in education, and social accountability in undergraduate medical education, Professionalism Subcommittee held a workshop on April 22, 2023. The participants engaged in active discussions during the workshop.　Through a post-workshop survey, educational needs and challenges in supporting students with developmental disabilities were clarified, providing insights for future Subcommittee activities.

Dealing with unprofessional behavior may have stages of identification (definition), prevention, discovery, evaluation, remediation, and follow-up. What is an unprofessional behavior? How to avoid it. How to discover it. Why did the behavior occur and what effect did it have? How to remediate the behavior of unprofessional learners and healthcare provider. What happened to them and their behavior after that? Dealing with unprofessional behavior is complex. In addition, there are few opportunities to share concrete examples of dealing with unprofessional behavior, and it is difficult to share know-how on how to deal with it. For this reason, educators are sometimes even exhausted in dealing with unprofessional cases. It is very meaningful to share the response to unprofessional behavior even little by little.

It is said that there is no universal and comprehensive definition of professionalism. This is because there are various factors to consider depending on age, social situation, and medical context. Another reason is that academics differ in how they think about professionalism. This situation has made it difficult to introduce professionalism education. However, it is thought that a certain educational effect can be obtained by promoting education while working with the learner to consider the concept and definition of professionalism based on the social contract that forms the basis of the concept of professionalism and the trust of society. We present examples of teaching the concept of professionalism through the use of concrete examples.

To ensure public trust in health professions, it is imperative for health professionals to understand the concept of conflict of interest (COI) in health professions education and manage it appropriately. However, there are not enough formal curricula on COI in health professions education in Japan. We propose an educational curriculum on COI in health professions education which focuses on relationship between physicians and for-profit corporations. We hope that this proposed curriculum stimulates educational activities on the ground while taking context into account. We also hope the proposed curriculum leads to the formal incorporation of COI in health professions education and educational policies nationwide.

Abstract:　The first White Coat Ceremony was officially conducted by prof. Arnold P. Gold at Columbia University in 1993. The professor felt that medical students needed more humanism and professionalism. Therefore, he established the Gold Foundation, the sponsoring organization for the White Coat Ceremony. Since then, it has spread across the country. The aim of the White Coat Ceremony is for medical students to understand the meaning of the responsibility associated with wearing the white coats, and to be aware of humanism and professionalism. Although it has been recently introduced in many medical departments in Japan, implementation methods of the White Coat Ceremony.