Millennials Attitude towards Medical Professionalism - A Comparative Study among Medical Students

Background: An essential aspect of medical training concerns the development of appropriate attitudes towards medical professionalism in students. This is because practice of medicine cannot solely rest upon academic and technical skills but must also focus upon the character, personal integrity and what has been called the ‘humanistic side of medicine'. These attitudes are the ones that inform future practice and affect doctors' relationships with their patients, the quality of care they provide and, ultimately, health and illness outcomes. Aim: Our Aim was to compare the attitude of millennial students towards medical professionalism. Methods: The study was conducted as a questionnaire based survey using an online platform. Overall, 400 questionnaires were analysed 200 freshers and 200 interns. Results: The freshers as well as the interns had similar opinion regarding professionalism and considered it of utmost importance. Conclusion: Although it is difficult to allot time and resources to professionalism, in addressing the hidden curriculum, we can protect the professional development of tomorrow's doctors- the millennials. The first step is to increase awareness of its existence, that is, professionalism should be constantly reinforced and assessed. The need of the hour is to identify pitfalls in the present pattern of curriculum and make necessary amendments so that doctors can be role models and heal society in a positive manner.