Is there a way we should look or behave as physicians? The question gets to the core of professionalism.
It’s an important question since so many doctors feel they are being judged because of their appearance, dress or language – both IRL and online. We are who we are. I am who I am. This is the real us. We don’t live by someone else’s standard.
While all of this may be true, it’s still a fair question.
Because even when we are precisely who we are, there are limits to the way we engage with patients or even one another. But what are those limits? Is there such a thing as medical professionalism and how is that even defined in an age of growing transparency and independence?
It’s easy to claim you’re being judged. But it’s much harder to decide where as doctors we should define our boundaries.
If you like this post on professionalism you might like the 33 charts Digital Professionalism Archives. In fact, every 33 charts post includes carefully chosen tags that help you find related reading on the site. They’re way down at the bottom of the post in a smaller font. Check ‘em out.
Photo by Cody Doherty on Unsplash