Self-Reported Assessment by Medical Students and Interns of Unprofessional Practice

Background: Medical trainees should learn appropriate professional attitudes requisite for practicing medicine. Purpose: Describe self-reported assessment of medical students and interns of unprofessional practice. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 88 participants (65 senior students and 23 interns) using self-administered questionnaire of 6 clinical and academic scenarios portraying a fictitious doctor engaged in unprofessional practice. Results: Eighty-one (92.1%) participants believed professional misconduct is wrong, particularly failure to consult a specialist, disrespect to patients' autonomy, and research fraud. Seventy-three (83.%) respondents would not perform these activities. There were no significant differences in responses by gender or year of study. Women and students, respectively, were significantly more lenient than men (p = .001) and interns (p = .002) regarding penalties appropriate for unprofessional behavior. Sixty-four (72.7%) participants would take action if colleagues failed to achieve professional standards. Conclusions: Perceptions of professional misconduct are not different in United Arab Emirates medical undergraduates from those observed elsewhere.