For many years now, Professionalism has been emphasized throughout the continuum of medical education at the University of Toronto.
General Evaluation (end of Selective):
The student you have in your Selective will have been evaluated on Professional attitudes and behaviours throughout their 4 years of medical school. A Professionalism form is completed for every course or other evaluation that the student receives, and lapses of professionalism can be a reason for academic difficulty, or even non-completion of the program.
The University's full page on Professionalism can be found here. Questions about something you have observed should be resolved by consulting that page, and/or by speaking to the Course Director.
When deciding about how to describe an incident of concern, consider the following:
Was this an academic issue, which is best dealt with by teaching and support, or a behavioural / attitudinal issue, which may be a Professionalism concern?
Were patients involved, either directly or indirectly? If so, was there either real or potential harm to one or more patients?
Is there an aspect of dishonesty?
Is there reason to suspect that this was not an isolated incident?
Could this be described as an error, an accidental omission, an example of poor organization, a misinterpretation of a policy, or ignorance? If so, these are potentially mitigating factors that should be elaborated on when commenting on an apparent lapse of professionalism.
Did the student put him/herself ahead of a patient, to the point where a patient may have been at risk?
When identifying a concern, give us as much information as possible on the form found below. Even better, contact us in person to discuss the situation.
For Issues of Major Concern: You do not have to wait until the end of the Selective to tell us about them. Contact us right away so that we can help with the situation in real time!
You can also log your concern by going to MedSIS and clicking on the "Professionalism" link on the navigation menu.
