Measuring professionalism

Extract: Not so long ago, the focus of medical education was on the immense breadth (and at times considerable depth) of the knowledge required for individuals to develop into sound medical practitioners. This is no easy task, as medical practice is underpinned by a wide range of biomedical, behavioural, and social sciences, and research makes almost daily additions to the understandingof human structure and function, mechanisms of disease and potentiallyeffective interventions that can improve quantity and quality of life. The pace of development is fast, and the challenge for medical education is to produce graduates who not only have a current knowledge and skills base, but canadapt to change and maintain their currency of practice, translating newknowledge and skills into effective clinical practice over a potentially long career.