Assessment of Professional Behaviors

Background

In 2002, The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) co-sponsored a conference on the assessment of medical student professionalism. Discussions at the conference generated an initial list of behaviors that were then expanded substantively by NBME staff.

In Sept. 2003 and Jan. 2004, an Instrument Design Task Force was convened by the NBME. The Task Force began with a list of approximately 150 behaviors and pruned the list to approximately 60 behaviors that were further refined; these appeared relevant to “professionalism” and were amenable to sampling by a survey instrument. The Task Force embraced a conceptual design that mapped behaviors into specific survey forms that, in turn, defined expected behaviors across the educational and practice continuum.

Embedding Professionalism in Medical Education: Assessment as a Tool for Implementation (2002 conference report)
	Original categorized list of professional behaviors The original list of approximately 150 behaviors. The figure to the left illustrates the original categorization scheme as a compass with points identifying the categories of altruism; responsibility and authority; leadership; caring, compassion and communication; excellence and scholarship; respect; and honor and integrity.
Refined list of 60 professional behaviors
During the 2004-05 academic year, the NBME conducted a pilot study with two residency programs and one medical school selected through an RFP process. During this pilot, observees (those being observed) included medical students, residents, and faculty. Observers included all groups listed for observees as well as nurses, administrative staff, and other health care professionals. Surveys were assigned based on the observer and observee training level through a Web-based system by a local administrator. In addition to the surveys assessing individual behavior, a survey was developed to assess the professional setting (local environment) in which the behaviors were observed.
Information gathered from the 2004-05 pilot guided refinement of the surveys and implementation guidelines, and program field trials are currently underway. For more information, please visit the Current Work page.