Guidelines
Communications, In-Person or Online
- Remember: All types of written or spoken communications are subject to McMaster University policy, must always respect patient confidentiality and may be shared without your consent.
- Like the Surgical Pause, practice ‘pause and reflect’ before communicating
- Personal correspondence about professional activity may be misconstrued and/or taken out of context
- Be aware that your personal interactions may be considered disruptive in a professional context
- When you know or should have known that you are working for McMaster, you likely are! Professional communications are expected in all aspects of your work.
Hospital Partners
McMaster University values its relationships with its hospital partners and strives to work collaboratively with them to achieve a shared vision for professionalism.
As a Team Member
- Be aware of the impact of your behaviour
- Maintain confidentiality and integrity
- Affirm and support your team
- Don’t engage in gossip
- Arrive on time
- Value honesty, integrity and accountability to yourself, your profession and your team
- Embrace appropriate transparency and effective collaboration
Professionalism in:
Patient Care
[Source: College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO)]
The doctor-patient relationship is the foundation of the practice of medicine. It reflects the values of compassion, service, altruism and trustworthiness. Trustworthiness is the cornerstone of the doctor-patient relationship; without trust, a good doctor-patient relationship cannot exist.
Communicate
- Compassion is fundamental to the relation ship between the patient and the doctor
- Compassion is defined as a deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to relieve it
- A physician’s primary responsibility is to the individual patient before themself
- A physician should always welcome questions and provide prompt and accurate information
Altruism/Putting Patient Interest First
- Altruism in medicine is defined as practising unselfishly and with a regard for others
- Patients’ needs are paramount and must be considered before the individual physician’s needs, the needs of physicians as a group or the public as a whole
- When providing care to a patient, a physician should always put that patient first
Learners
We strive to treat our learners with respect and demonstrate patience and empathy, ensuring that we provide a positive learning environment.
Practice
McMaster University Professional Domains:
1. Professional Responsibility/Integrity
- Completes required tasks
- Truthful and honest
- Takes appropriate responsibility
- Respects confidentiality
- Respects learning environment and resources
- Balances personal interests with the needs of others
2. Pursuit of Excellence/Insight
- Willing to learn from feedback
- Able to acknowledge personal limits
- Commitment to continued development
- Takes action in the face of potential impairment
- Takes initiative
3. Personal Interactions
- Respectful toward others
- Accepting of different points of view
- Willing to reflect, receive feedback and see the impact of self on others
- Appreciates personal stress impacts interaction with others
- Appears professional in a setting that inspires trust
Social Media
McMaster University’s Department of Surgery upholds the CPSO’s core mandates for appropriate social media use by health care professionals. They are:
- Comply with all legal and professional obligations to maintain patient privacy and confidentiality
- Maintain appropriate professional boundaries with patients and those close to them
- Maintain professional and respectful relationships with patients, colleagues and other members of the health-care team
- Comply with relevant legislation with respect to physician advertising
- Comply with the law related to defamation, copyright and plagiarism when posting content online
- Avoid conflicts of interest
Policies
Legislation
- Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
- Ontario Human Rights Code
- Occupational Health and Safety Act – Violence and Harassment in the Workplace
- Personal Health Information Protection Act
- Regulated Health Professions Act
Faculty of Health Sciences Policies
[Obtained from the Professionalism in Clinically Based Education website.]
- Faculty of Health Sciences Police Records Check Policy (PDF)
- Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Graduate Learners, Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF)
- Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Undergraduate Learners, Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF)
Postgraduate Education Policies
Harassment
Health Records
- Health Records Completion by Residents
- Health Records Handling & Disposal
Professionalism
- Professional Behavior Code of Conduct for Learners
- Professionalism Policy & Procedures
- Professionalism in Practice Domains
- Resolution of Resident Disagreement with Attending/Physician Supervisor on issue of Patient Care (Ontario Policy)
Technology & Industry
- Electronic Networking — Appropriate Use
- Pharmaceutical Industry — Guidelines for Interaction
Hospital Policies
Resources
- The Practice Guide: Medical Professionalism and College Policies (CPSO)
- CPSO Professional Obligations and Human Rights
- CPSO Fundamentals of Civility for Physicians (PDF)
- Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Harassment: Prevention and Response (PDF)
- Violence in the Workplace: McMaster University Policy (PDF)
- McMaster University Policies, Procedures and Guidelines (PDF)
- Hamilton Health Sciences: Learner Orientation Handbook (PDF)
- St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton: Commitment to Service Excellence
- Professionalism — connecting the past and the present and a blueprint for the Canadian Association of General Surgeons, Canadian Journal of Surgery (PDF)
- A Culture of Respect, Part 1: The Nature and Causes of Disrespectful Behavior by Physicians?, Academic Medicine (PDF)