Check Your Email and Don't Show Up Late! How to Tackle Medical Professionalism and Remediation

Professionalism plays an integral role in the practice of medicine, yet when faced with addressing unprofessional behavior, the dread is real. Chief residents are often the first individuals tasked with having the initial conversation with a problematic resident. How to start the dialogue? More importantly, how can chief residents appropriately communicate expectations to someone who is already struggling? Navigating medical professionalism and the remediation process can be quite challenging but the process can be divided into four steps: problem identification; problem investigation and classification; determination of an appropriate intervention; and assessment of the success of the intervention. Potential professionalism issues are most frequently identified by reported behavioral issues. The presenters provide a framework to investigate the underlying reasons and values for the behaviors using the 7Ds Differential and the multi-level professionalism framework based on professional identity formation. In deciding an appropriate intervention during the remediation process, the lens of "just culture," originally popularized in responding to medical errors, is used. Upon completion of the workshop, participants will be equipped with a toolbox of resources to help identify unprofessional behaviors, evaluate the underlying etiology, and apply a systematic approach to remediation.