Healthcare Professionalism

Working as a healthcare company is one of the most challenging and rewarding professions. Owing to the fact that it requires steady interaction with people with varying fitness conditions, success in this field demands diligence and discipline now not just to one_x0092_s self but to the entire profession. For stronger productivity, healthcare professionals are often required to undertake an oath to the public advocating the positive moral values they promise to uphold as they undertake their professions. Professionalism, therefore, serves as the ultimate guide to efficient and advantageous service delivery by medics. The evaluation that follows is a summary of an interview undertaken with a therapist and rehabilitation specialist. The interview highlights three major components of professionalism in healthcare namely; belief in an ethical value system, exercising of knowledge and technical skills as well as development of interpersonal skills.
My interviewee is a rehabilitation specialist working with persons with physical disability. As a specialist, she strives to help patients with injuries or derailing conditions regain their physical abilities (Patient Navigator Training Collaborative, 2016). The goal of her treatment plans is to improve a patient_x0092_s mobility and restore one_x0092_s physical abilities so as to minimize any further disability. While restoring patient_x0092_s ability is often a fulfilling achievement, there are several occasions when she has been tempted to down her tools and move on to less challenging professions. With every new patient, Mary cites several ethical issues that she has had to put up with as she delivers her services.
_x0093_Professionalism,_x0094_ she notes, _x0093_is one great attribute that continues to guide my actions when faced with any form of dilemma._x0094_ In her view, professionalism refers to the ability of a healthcare provider to communicate expertise knowledge, provide the right form of diagnosis and design accurate treatment plan for a patient. Her view is summed up in the definition of professionalism which is given as the ability of a practitioner to understand his/her professional roles (American Board of Medical Specialist, 2012). Healthcare providers must be able to exercise technical skills and knowledge in their areas of expertise. This component must be accompanied with strict adherence to ethical principles, compassion and utmost respect for others. When met with any ethical challenge, Mary believes that medics should remember to uphold patients_x0092_ interest rather than their own self interest.
When asked whether she deemed her organizational leaders as stewards of healthcare, she gives a resounding nod. She believes that the productivity of healthcare professionals relies heavily on organizational leaders. _x0093_A rotten tree trunk cannot yield good fruits,_x0094_ she says. The ability of organizational leaders to steer subordinates in the right direction requires a greater degree of professionalism. Professionals in this field should not only learn how to manage themselves but also grasp tips on how to relate with others (American Board of Medical Specialist, 2012). Leaders are deemed as organizational trunks and should as a result practice goodwill to attain positive results. As head of organizations, leaders must cultivate a feedback rich environment and motivational strategies that ensure individual goals are aligned with organizational objectives.
Leaders should seek to advocate for professionalism. Mary expresses her concern over the continued use of bureaucratic leadership in most healthcare organizations. In her view, authoritative and bureaucratic management will always restrict healthcare specialists to adhere to specific modes of operations (Garman, 2006). It stifles innovation and as such might not be effective in a healthcare setting. She believes that top managers should strive to be good role models of professionalism within an organization as this will eventually trickle down to subordinates. References
American Board of Medical Specialist. (2012). ABMS Definition of Medical Professionalism (Long Form). Retrieved from http://www.abms.org/media/84742/abms-definition-of-medical-professionalism.pdf
Garman, N. A. (2006). Competencies; Professionalism. Journal of Healthcare Management. Vol. 51(4). Retrieved from http://www.healthcareleadershipalliance.org/Professionalism.pdf
Patient Navigator Training Collaborative. (2016). Introduction to Healthcare System: A Tutorial for Patient navigators. Retrieved from http://www.patientnavigatortraining.org/healthcare_system/module3/5_therapists_rehabilitation_specialists.htm