Medical professionalism: perspectives of medical students and residents at Ayder Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital, Mekelle, Ethiopia – a cross-sectional study

Figures & data

Table 1 Mean scores of professionalism of medical students and residents of Ayder Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital, Mekelle city, Ethiopia, 2017 (n=276)

Core elements of professionalism	Mean (SD)
Honesty	24.2 (3.8)
Accountability	19.14 (3.6)
Confidentiality	16.17 (2.7)
Respectfulness	24.01 (3.8)
Responsibility	21.68 (4.9)
Compassion	17.92 (3.92)
Communication	19.41 (5.2)
Maturity	24.24 (7.1)
Self-directed learning	8.18 (1.68)
Overall	174.96 (41.73)

Table 2 Comparison of professionalism of medical students and residents of Ayder Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital, Mekelle city, Ethiopia, according to sex, 2017 (n=276)

Core professionalism elements	Mean (SD)		t-statistics (df)	P-valuea
	Male (n=199)	Female (n=77)
Honesty	24.37 (3.6)	23.77 (4.33)	1.169 (274)	0.243
Accountability	19.30 (3.65)	18.74 (3.67)	1.141 (274)	0.255
Confidentiality	16.83 (2.66)	16.57 (2.86)	0.718 (274)	0.473
Respectfulness	24.03 (3.67)	23.95 (4.200)	0.160 (274)	0.873
Responsibility	21.57 (5.07)	21.97 (4.47)	−0.612 (273)	0.541
Compassion	18.54 (3.84)	16.30 (3.01)	0.505 (272)	0.614
Communication	19.65 (5.5)	18.76 (4.07)	1.261 (272)	0.208
Maturity	24.35 (7.8)	23.96 (4.81)	0.400 (272)	0.689
Self-directed learning	8.24 (1.5)	8.03 (1.90)	0.949 (272)	0.343
Overall score	176.53 (29.37)	170.90 (45.6)	1.005 (274)	0.316

Note:

a Independent t-test.

Abbreviation: df, degrees of freedom.

Table 3 Comparison of professionalism of medical students and residents of Ayder Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital, Mekelle city, Ethiopia according to phase the doctors reached in their career/study, 2017 (n=276)

Core elements	Mean (SD)				F-test (df)	P-valuea
	C-I (n=96)	C-II (n=73)	Interns (n=68)	Residents (n=39)
Honesty	22.94 (3.3)	23.85 (4.3)	25.79 (4.0)	25.21 (2.8)	9.104 (3)	0.000
Accountability	17.92 (3.1)	18.62 (4.4)	21.38 (3.2)	19.26 (2.3)	14.375 (3)	0.000
Confidentiality	16.68 (2.3)	16.05 (3.1)	17.62 (2.7)	16.79 (2.4)	4.044 (3)	0.008
Respectfulness	23.75 (3.4)	22.33 (4.5)	25.01 (3.5)	26.03 (2.0)	11.154 (3)	0.000
Responsibility	21.43 (3.8)	20.83 (5.3)	22.01 (6.4)	23.28 (2.6)	2.322 (3)	0.076
Compassion	15.89 (2.5)	22.33 (2.5)	16.78 (2.5)	16.72 (2.3)	1.604 (3)	0.061
Communication	19.26 (5.4)	18.69 (6.6)	20.09 (4.0)	19.90 (2.9)	0.967 (3)	0.409
Maturity	23.90 (6.6)	22.85 (8.2)	25.82 (8.1)	24.95 (2.5)	2.223 (3)	0.086
Self-directed learning	8.24 (1.4)	7.46 (2.1)	8.43 (1.5)	8.95 (1.1)	8.241 (3)	0.000
Overall score	166.99 (19.7)	171.75 (71.9)	181.90 (28.2)	181.08 (14.3)	1.511 (3)	0.212

Notes:

a One way ANOVA. Bold text indicates statistical significance.

Abbreviations: C-I, clinical I; C-II, clinical II; ANOVA, analysis of variance; df, degrees of freedom.

Table 4 Participants’ opinions through open-ended questions

What do you mean by professionalism?		How professionalism should be taught?		How do you learn professionalism?		How professionalism should be assessed?
Opinion	n (%)	Opinion	n (%)	Opinion	n (%)	Opinion	n (%)
Skillful approach	99 (36)	Using experience	97 (35)	Everyday experience	86 (31)	Job performance	82 (30)
Positive approach	94 (34)	Formal education	64 (23)	From role models	81 (29)	Feedback	69 (25)
Others	50 (18)	Using role models	55 (20)	Formal education	41 (15)	Formal education assessment	69 (25)
Not responded	33 (12)	Others	33 (12)	Others	41 (15)	Others	39 (14)
		Not responded	27 (10)	Not responded	27 (10)	Not responded	17 (6)

Note: Others, unrelated answers which were not important to report.