Professionalism

The mission of the Oregon Medical Board is to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of Oregon citizens by regulating the practice of medicine, podiatry, and acupuncture in a manner that promotes access to quality care. It fulfills its mission by, among other activities, investigating and, if necessary, imposing disciplinary action upon licensees who do not uphold the standards of professionalism.

Professionalism comprises those attributes and behaviors that serve to maintain patients' interests above the licensee's self-interest.

Professionalism means the continuing pursuit of excellence (see definition below), and includes the following qualities:

Altruism is the essence of professionalism. Altruism refers to unselfish regard for and devotion to the welfare of others and is a key element of professionalism. Self-interest or the interests of other parties should not interfere with the care of one's patients and their families.

Accountability and Responsibility are required at many levels – individual patients, society, and the profession. First, there must be accountability to one's patients and to their families. There must also be accountability to society for addressing the health needs of the public and to ensure that the public's needs are addressed.

One must also be accountable to the profession to ensure that the ethical precepts of practice are upheld. Licensees are required to report prohibited and unprofessional conduct, medical incompetence, or physical incapacity of other licensed healthcare providers to the appropriate regulatory board.

Inherent in responsibility is reliability in completing assigned duties or fulfilling commitments. There must also be a willingness to accept responsibility for errors.

Duty is the acceptance of a commitment to service. This commitment entails being available and responsive when “on call," accepting personal inconvenience in order to meet the needs of one's patients, enduring unavoidable risks to oneself when a patient's welfare is at stake, and advocating the best possible care regardless of the patient's ability to pay.

Excellence entails a conscientious effort to exceed ordinary expectations and to make a commitment to life-long learning and education. Commitment to excellence is an acknowledged goal for all licensees. One must seek to learn from errors and aspire to excellence through self-evaluation and acceptance of the critiques of others.

Honesty and Integrity are the consistent regard for the highest standards of behavior and the refusal to violate one's personal and professional codes. Honesty and integrity imply being fair, being truthful, keeping one's word, meeting commitments, and being forthright in interactions with patients, peers, and in all professional work, whether through documentation, personal communication, presentations, research, or other aspects of interaction. Honesty and integrity require awareness of situations that may result in conflict of interest, bias, or  personal gain at the expense of the best interest of the patient.

Respect for Others is central to professionalism. This respect extends to all spheres of contact, including patients, families, other healthcare providers, and professional colleagues. One must treat all people with respect and regard for their individual worth and dignity. One must listen attentively and respond humanely to the concerns of patients and family members.

Appropriate empathy for and relief of pain, discomfort, and anxiety should be part of the daily practice of medicine, podiatry, and acupuncture. One must be fair and nondiscriminatory and be aware of emotional, personal, family, and cultural influences on patient well-being and patients' rights and choices of medical care. It is also a professional obligation to respect appropriate patient confidentiality.