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Research ArticleOriginal Research

Promise of Professionalism: Personal Mission Statements Among a National Cohort of Medical Students

Michael W. Rabow, Judith Wrubel and Rachel Naomi Remen
The Annals of Family Medicine July 2009, 7 (4) 336-342; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.979
Michael W. Rabow
MD
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Judith Wrubel
PhD
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Rachel Naomi Remen
MD
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    Table 1.

    Classic Oaths and Modern Professionalism Statements

    The Oath of Hippocrates (4th century bc)1
    The Prayer of Maimonides (12th century ad)2
    The Declaration of Geneva (1948)5
    The Oath of Lasagna (1964)6
    The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Core Competencies (1999)7
    The American Medical Association Declaration of Professional Responsibility (2001)8
    The American Medical Association Principles of Medical Ethics (2001)9
    The American Board of Internal Medicine Charter on Medical Professionalism (2002)10
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    Table 2.

    Common Themes and Codes Among 100 Student Mission Statements

    Theme and CodeFrequency of Codea
    aFrequency = percentage, given that n = 100.
    Professional skills
        Dealing with the negatives23
        Listening and presence20
        Growth and development17
        Empathy10
        Needs recognition10
        Thinking/cognition9
        Discernment8
        Other skills7
        Communication6
        Self-reflection6
        Relational skills5
        Self-care5
    Personal qualities
        Constancy/perfectionalism37
        Wholeness, integrity, and self-respect29
        Entitlement vs humility13
        Self-acceptance12
    Professional identity
        Nature of relationships38
        Positive emotions29
        Nature of healing27
        Service26
        Spirituality23
        Relationship with patient as person19
        Balance15
        Relationship with community4

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  • The Article in Brief

    Promise of Professionalism: Personal Mission Statements Among a National Cohort of Medical Students

    Michael W. Rabow , and colleagues

    Background Throughout history, doctors have taken oaths intended to reflect their professional values, personal goals, and commitments to society. It is not known whether such guidelines are accepted by medical students or whether they reflect students' professional priorities. This study looks at medical students' professional commitments and values by analyzing their individual mission statements.

    What This Study Found Three main themes emerged from medical students' individual mission statements: professional skills, personal qualities, and scope of professional practices. Compared with classic oaths and more contemporary professionalism statements, students offer an expanded view of physicianhood that includes such elements as dealing with fears, personal-professional balance, love, equal relationships, self-care, healing, and awe. While recognizing the central role of the patient, students appear to recognize the importance of ties to their own families and the need for balance and a supportive community, as well as the need to maintain personal wholeness and deal with negative aspects of training.

    Implications

    • Too large a gap between the personal goals of students and the basic skills outlined in standardized professional guidelines may contribute to cynicism, alienation, and depression as students move through their training.
    • Medical school curricula may need to be adapted to support the personal goals of those now entering medicine.
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The Annals of Family Medicine: 7 (4)
The Annals of Family Medicine: 7 (4)
Vol. 7, Issue 4
1 Jul 2009
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Promise of Professionalism: Personal Mission Statements Among a National Cohort of Medical Students
Michael W. Rabow, Judith Wrubel, Rachel Naomi Remen
The Annals of Family Medicine Jul 2009, 7 (4) 336-342; DOI: 10.1370/afm.979

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Promise of Professionalism: Personal Mission Statements Among a National Cohort of Medical Students
Michael W. Rabow, Judith Wrubel, Rachel Naomi Remen
The Annals of Family Medicine Jul 2009, 7 (4) 336-342; DOI: 10.1370/afm.979
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