Minnesota medicine
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Professionalism affects the quality of medical care in terms of clinical outcomes, safety, and service. Although often talked about by physicians, professionalism is important for all who are engaged in clinical care. In our continuous effort to improve quality at Mayo Clinic, we hypothesized that patient satisfaction was affected by the professionalism of the allied health staff. ⋯ We found patient satisfaction with the allied health staff increased from 71% to 77% after the training. We also saw improvement in each of the individual PLEASE CARE attributes. This demonstrates that enhancement of professionalism among allied health staff can have a positive effect on the experience of patients.
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Physician professionalism is influenced by both environmental and personal factors, one of which is physician well-being. Yet, a variety of stressors inherent in medical training and practice can erode a physician's sense of well-being and contribute to distress. This article reviews the epidemiology of physician distress; describes what is known about the relationships between distress, well-being, and professionalism; and discusses personal and environmental factors that contribute to professionalism among physicians.