What is medical professionalism and how should we teach it?

  Professionalism is one of the core competencies that have become more important in the last few decades. In this paper, we describe the concepts of professionalism, its importance and teaching methods. Finally, we share the Tehran University of Medical Science (TUMS) teaching experience in this domain We searched the electronic databases such as Medline/PubMed, Embase and SID with appropriate keywords for papers and documents regarding professionalism definitions, its teaching and learning methods, guidelines for professional behavior and competency frameworks. 65 documents met eligibility criteria and were included in the review Todays, most medical schools have integrated teaching medical professionalism as a core competency in undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula. Professionalism should be taught explicitly in formal curriculum as well as implicitly. Reflection and role-modelling are held as the most effective strategies for teaching professionalism. Faculty development is necessary for successful implementation of professionalism courses. Faculty development is essential for running an effective educational program in professionalism. Developing professionalism improvement document, teaching professionalism as a longitudinal theme, teaching professionalism to residents, faculty development, and producing educational materials on professionalism are among activities that TUMS has implemented to develop and cultivate professionalism Medical professionalism is a complex and multidimensional competency. Therefore, compared to other core medical competencies, it is harder to define, train, and evaluate. Some activities have been implemented in TUMS, but more effort is still needed to reach the ideal level