Society has high expectations of health care practitioners leaving the burden of proof on healthcare educational institutions. As educators, it is our responsibility to ensure that students acquire the cognitive and affective domains associated with professionalism through the acquisition of appropriate skills and knowledge leading to the development of competent professionals. The literature on professionalism with respect to student education is still limited to clinical healthcare education and is primarily based on patient care interactions (van Mook, de Grave, van Luijk, et al., 2009).
This study utilized mixed methods incorporating both quantitative and qualitative elements. The theoretical framework for this study was based upon an analysis of different theories on learning including Miller’s Hierarchy of Learning and Situated Learning Theory. This study was framed around the social paradigm of constructivism and incorporated the situated learning theory by Lave & Wegner. These paradigms affected research design and development, and data analysis.
In this exploratory study, I uncovered perceptions about student competencies in professionalism through conversation with optometric faculty. The optometric profession values and expects professionalism as does society; therefore, there is a need for increased emphasis of professionalism in optometric curricula. However, this study emphasized that the profession does exhibit a conceptual definition of professionalism that needs to be expressed and adopted in concrete statements so that student and faculty alike understand their expectations. The study showed support for the close alignment between faculty expectations and ASCO ethical and professional standards in optometry.
This dissertation proposed competency statements that can be utilized by ASCO allowing institutions to have specific guidelines and the opportunity to develop outcomes assessment. These statements can be used as a foundation upon which to develop rubrics for professionalism and are based on demonstrable behaviors. The data has also highlighted disconnects between expectations, demonstrable behaviors, emphasis, and assessment. There was a significant variation in faculty and institutional expectations of students based on faculty age, appointment, and tenure status.
Using the data presented in this study, it is evident that additional research in professionalism needs to occur related to scale development, concepts, gaps, and variables. This study demonstrated the need for additional research on student demonstrable behaviors, institutional expectations of faculty, and faculty expectations of themselves as related to accountability to one’s profession and to payers. Based on faculty perceptions, this study also identified significant gaps between student behaviors and assessment, and faculty behaviors and expectations which requires further inquiry.