EXPLORING CHALLENGES IN TEACHING PROFESSIONALISM TO MEDICAL STUDENTS: FACULTY PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS

Abstract

Background: Professionalism is a core competency in undergraduate medical education, yet faculty often struggle to define, teach, and assess it consistently. Misalignment between formal curricula and the hidden curriculum, limited instructional time, and variable role modeling can weaken students’ professional identity formation, particularly in culturally diverse, resource constrained settings. Objective: To explore faculty perspectives on the challenges of teaching professionalism to undergraduate medical students at Wah Medical College and to identify practical, context relevant strategies to strengthen professionalism education. Methods: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted with 25 purposively selected faculty members from basic and clinical sciences who had at least two years of teaching experience and involvement in teaching or assessing professionalism. Unstructured, in depth, audio recorded interviews were conducted in private settings. Transcripts were anonymized and analyzed using thematic analysis supported by NVivo. Credibility was enhanced through participant confirmation of interpretations, an audit trail, and team based analysis. Results: Participants reported substantial conceptual ambiguity, with professionalism variably understood as ethics, behavior, manners, or communication. Teaching was constrained by reliance on the hidden curriculum, inconsistent role modeling, and limited protected time in the formal syllabus. Student related barriers included resistance when professionalism was not assessed, narrow focus on appearance, cultural variation in expectations, and negative peer influence. Institutional constraints—absence of formal assessment, limited faculty preparation, and unclear policies—further weakened implementation. Faculty proposed actionable solutions: develop a locally agreed definition; integrate professionalism longitudinally across courses and clinical placements; introduce meaningful assessment; provide structured faculty development; and promote intentional role modeling and mentorship. Conclusion: Teaching professionalism effectively requires alignment of definition, curriculum, assessment, faculty capacity, and institutional policy. Faculty generated strategies from this study offer a feasible roadmap for strengthening professionalism education in similar low and middle income academic settings. Future work should include student perspectives and multi institutional evaluation of implemented interventions.