Educational system defects and observing professional behavior: A qualitative study

Observing professional behavior in clinical settings encounters many obstacles. In this research, the effect of defects of the educational system in observing professional behavior in clinical settings of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) has been investigated.

This qualitative content analysis study was conducted using focused group discussions in TUMS. Twenty‑two focused group discussions with 182 faculty members, medical students, and clinical staff were conducted. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data.

One hundred and sixty codes (90 codes from the viewpoint of clinical staff and 70 codes from the viewpoint of faculty members and medical students) were extracted. The codes are categorized into 4 categories and 17 subcategories. The categories include “educators’ imperfections,” “inadequate initial training,” “lack of attention to continuous professional education,” and “lack of passion for professionalism education.”

Greater efforts to empower educators, planning for the effectiveness of initial education, and motivating employees might play a role in promoting the observance of professional behavior in clinical settings. Professional behavior training should be considered at the entrance into the system. This education should be strengthened by continuing theoretical and practical training and addressed by proper supervision. It is also important to focus on attracting the attention of teachers to their own model role in observing professional behavior by others.