Assessing professional behaviour and the role of academic advice at the Maastricht Medical School

Abstract

Due to changes in the position of healthcare workers, greater emphasis should be placed on the assessment of the humanistic qualities of professional behaviour. To achieve this, students must receive feedback on their professional behaviour in different situations relevant to future practice. In the Maastricht Medical School it means that from the first year till the clerkships professional behaviour of students is assessed experimentally for judgements and feedback in different educational settings. The criteria of those judgements are discussed in this paper. Unprofessional behaviour during clerkships is reported to the academic adviser or to the examination committee or both. The academic adviser offers support to find solutions for the student when needed. The examination committee judges the severity of the problem and will act accordingly. Good collaboration between the academic adviser and the examination committee is necessary to cope with the problem of inadequate professional behaviour.