The Other Side of Professionalism: Doctor-to-Doctor

Abstract

What do the terms “profession, professional, professionalism” mean in 2002? One dictionary defines profession as “a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation,” and it defines professionalism as “the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or make a profession or professional person.” These definitions are appealingly simple. Complexity arises when we add the term “medical” as in the medical profession, a medical professional, or medical professionalism; and, here a specific understanding of “the conduct, aims, and qualities that characterize” the field of medicine is required. To complicate matters, professionalism applies to both the profession as a whole as well as the individual professional persons, such as the physicians.