Medical Staff

Unprofessional behavior in medical school tied to future disciplinary action

Executive Briefings Digest, March 7, 2006

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Medical students who display unprofessional behavior in medical school are more likely to be the subject of disciplinary actions by medical boards later in their careers, a New England Journal of Medicine study reports. Researchers compared the medical school records of 235 graduates who were disciplined by state medical boards between 1990 and 2003 with the records of 469 control physicians from the same schools and graduation years.

They found that severe irresponsibility and a diminished capacity for self-improvement were the types of unprofessional behavior most strongly linked with disciplinary action. Disciplinary action was also associated with low scores on the Medical College Admission Test and poor grades in the first two years of medical school. The study provides evidence supporting professionalism as a measure of competence in medical school, the study's authors say.

Source: Medical Staff Briefing



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