Abstract
Purpose
Medical professionalism, as a cornerstone of medicine’s social contract with society, demands physicians adhere to high professional standards while placing public interest ahead of self-interest. This study’s objective was to investigate perceptions of the basic elements of medical professionalism related to physicians’ interpersonal relationships and their professional standing in the view of the broader public.
Methods
A field survey was conducted using an independently created questionnaire on a nationally representative three-stage probabilistic sample of 1,008 Croatian citizens. By including weights, the sample became nationally representative in terms of sex, age, education, and regional representation. The survey was carried out from April 17 to May 13, 2012.
Results
The Croatian public recognizes the importance of collaboration among physicians, but their everyday experiences tell a different story, in which almost half of the respondents evaluated physicians’ collaboration as being mediocre, poor, or nonexistent. The perception of physicians’ priorities and their primary interests, where every sixth respondent believes physicians always or almost always puts their own interest in front of that of the patients, as well as the perception of their inadequate adherence to professional standards, is indicative of a disillusioned stance of the public toward the medical profession in Croatia.
Conclusion
This research offered insight into findings that can have a profound and long-lasting effect on a health care delivery process if they are not further analyzed and rectified.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by scientific research project under the patronage of the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports (“The effect of organization on the quality and effectiveness of health care,” 108-1081871-91, and “Occupational health and a healthy environment,” 108-1080316-0300).
We thank Andro Košec, MD, and Danijela Ćurković, MD, for assisting in study design and manuscript review.
Author contributions
MĆ performed the study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing, and manuscript review. MM contributed to study design, data analysis, interpretation of results, and manuscript editing. AB performed study design, coordination of research, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing, and manuscript review. JM participated in the study design, interpretation of results, manuscript editing, and manuscript review. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.