Search the website

Professional values - Findings from BMA cohort studies

May 2008

Introduction
The UK medical profession is currently going through a period of significant change and development. Long-held assumptions about the health system and
the role of the doctor are being challenged. Medical professionalism is being discussed with increasing frequency against a background of change in the
structure and environment of medicine in the UK. The relationship between patient and doctor is also changing as the public become increasingly better informed. Recent NHS reforms, increased patient expectations and new arrangements for medical education and training have fuelled the debate surrounding the qualities required of doctors. The modern doctor must be able to practise effectively and efficiently in a constantly changing health environment.

The current challenges facing doctors are exacerbated by increasing workloads and frustrations at the growing gap between what it is possible to do for patients and what can be done with available resources, even with the additional funding made available to the NHS in recent years. Against this background of reform and change, many want to redefine medical professionalism according to what patients want from doctors. As Irvine points out, ‘medicine is in transition from a predominantly doctor oriented culture to a patient centred culture of professional values founded on the principle of patient autonomy… and this requires doctors to involve patients in their decisions about their medical care’.

The state of medical professionalism is a major and controversial subject of public and professional debate. This debate is taking place against a background of enormous change in the delivery of healthcare. While doctors are adapting to these changes, many feel unsettled not only by the pace at which these changes are taking place but also by the unanticipated effects they are having on their ability to deliver the best possible care to patients most in need. The values that guide doctors through this evolving environment are best summed up in a single word – professionalism.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is committed to ensuring the highest level of medical professionalism and is working to refine the concept of professionalism and what it means for the modern doctor. While the current debate attempts to redefine professionalism and pinpoint the ideal set of professional values for the medical profession, much of the discussion to date is based on the views of key stakeholders, organisations and influential individuals. An obvious omission from much of the current debate is empirical evidence of grassroots doctors’ views on professional values. Based on the results of the BMA cohort studies of 1995 and 2006 medical graduates, this report examines the views and perceptions of junior doctors regarding professional values.

Download a full copy of the report from the link on the right.