Standardized online professionalism education could be achieved through SBME to identify learners who are at risk for unprofessional behavior or those who lack empathy. Many boards already use SBME for their maintenance of licensure.
21 Different types of SBME include using standardized patients for oral board examinations or simulated scenarios using high-fidelity simulators. In a standardized SBME session, the students would participate in a videotaped scenario containing an online professionalism issue. After the simulated session, the learner and faculty member review the videotape and assess how the student handled the situation. Considering personal reflection with guidance has been shown to be an important tool in teaching professionalism, the debrief portion of the SBME session provides an avenue for self-reflection.
22 Students can reflect on their reaction to specific professionalism scenarios and become familiar with the appropriate way to deal with them. Mueller
23 suggested that physicians create a professionalism portfolio showing proof of training. Research done using simulation to assess for professionalism and communication competence has yielded positive results.
24 A study of emergency medicine residents who used simulation to represent ethical dilemmas showed that second- and third-year residents performed better overall than first-year residents, suggesting that professional behaviors are learned over the course of residency training.
25 Incorporating an SBME curriculum has been suggested
26 and could incorporate online professionalism as well. Professionalism should no longer be a “hidden curriculum, leaving a lot to chance.”
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