AED: Altruism, Excellence, and Duty—A Professionalism Module for Emergency Medicine

Abstract

Abstract This is a 2-hour module designed for emergency medicine residents that summarizes the concepts of professionalism into three core values of altruism, excellence, and duty. The sessions allow residents to read, reflect, discuss, and write about their personal values and how to apply them to their professional career. Residents are encouraged to see the link between their behavior as a physician and their future success in emergency medicine. The module consists of two 1-hour sessions which are held in a small-group format. A take home writing assignment is given between the two sessions. It is intended to be a low-tech, highly-interactive discussion and reflection curriculum. Effectiveness of the curriculum was assessed following the first 2 years of implementation, using the duty component of the model. Of eight residents completing the curriculum, seven demonstrated improvement in timely completion of program related activities. The one resident who did not improve has continued to struggle with duty issues, and the curriculum may be an early marker for long term problems.

Keywords

• Reflection
• Honor
• Integrity
• Altruism
• Critical Incident
• Task Performance and Analysis