Professionalism, Respect, and Empathy in the Dental Profession
By Jessica Thielen
January 20, 2018
Professionalism, respect, and empathy are all essentials as a dental professional. These are qualities that are expected of any dental professional in the dental office. Patients are watching the dental staff’s every move, and they are judging the office based on the appearance and actions of the those who work in the office. professionalism is defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person.” That being said, professionalism can mean a variety of different things. It is a word that can define a person based on qualities or characteristics they possess, such as competence, image or
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Often times, older patients present to the office with an extensive health history, so it is crucial to keep their needs in mind while treating them. Eileen Morrissey, another registered dental hygienist, gives a perfect example of empathy in the dental office. Morrissey had a patient on a medication for an overactive bladder. The patient arrived 20 minutes early, but waited until she got called back, to use the restroom. Morrissey stated, “I found myself remarking in a snarky fashion, when confirming the patient’s arrival time with the office administrator” (2016). After attending a continuing education course, she was reminded that, as dental professions, who work on a strict schedule, its often all about them, and never the patient. She says, “Again, it was all about us and our convenience rather than patient empathy and care” (Morressey, 2016). While it is important to stay on schedule, it is even more important to keep the patient’s needs and feelings in mind. We don’t want them to think we are rushing to get them
Professionalism to me is being honest, having a high level of integrity, striving for excellence, respecting others and providing quality care with compassion.
The textbook describes the characteristics of professionalism to be accuracy, courteousness and respectfulness, dependability, flexibility, commitment to lifelong learning, tactfulness accountability, positive attitude, and a professional appearance. In the following paragraphs I will describe five characteristics that I find important in professionalism.
As health care providers, professionalism, respect and empathy should play an essential role in our daily routine. These core values allow us as health care providers to demonstrate understanding, compassion, and appreciation for our patients and their experiences. Utilizing these virtues will allow for an experience that will make the patient feel respected, valued and wanting to return.
According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary (2017), professionalism is “the skill, good judgment, and polite behavior that is expected to do a job well.” Medical professionals must possess occupational competence, ethical excellence, and exemplary patient relations. Occupational competence encompasses more than just job knowledge. While being technically competent to perform all necessary job functions is vital, a commitment to continually improve is essential. With the rate of technological advancements in the medical profession, continued education is required to stay abreast of changes. Self-reflection is also important to know when and where personal improvement is needed. High ethical standards, including honesty, integrity, accountability,
Professionalism is an adherence to a set of values comprising both a formally agreed-upon code of conduct and the informal expectations of colleagues, clients and society. The key values include acting in a patient's interest, responsiveness to the health needs of society, maintaining the highest standards of excellence in the practice of medicine and in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. In addition to medical knowledge and skills, medical professionals should present psychosocial and humanistic qualities such as caring, empathy, humility and compassion, as well as social responsibility and sensitivity to people's culture and beliefs. All these qualities are expected of members of highly trained professions.
The Ethical Dilemma Ebony French Intro to Dental Assisting Vatterott College Courtney Oetting When working with the general public, there is a list of unsaid ethical expectations. Treat everyone with dignity and respect. Treat everyone the same, do not discriminate and so on. Unfortunately, this is not every patient’s experience.
A professional is characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2) : exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace. Being professional should be a subconscious effort in the fact that it should always be applied. When employees are professional it helps the system run more efficiently and safely. A person must me a certain criteria when being evaluated on professionalism, a person is judged based on the clients; Attitude, Values, Communication techniques, and approachability. Clients who display a committed, dependable attitude will benefit more from work exerted, and overall be rewarded with incentives. Although professionalism may be in the eye of the
Becoming a dental hygienist involves the game stage substantially. In the game stage, we begin to understand that the people around us have responsibilities of their own and demands placed upon them as well, the world does not revolve solely around the individual. In patient care, it is important for us as the dental hygienist to be aware that our patients may feel as though they do not have time to brush or floss their teeth. Instead of just placing judgement on them the dental hygienist needs to look at the situation from the patient’s point of view and should empathize and work with the patient to come to a solution. The game stage is likely why we also say keep your home life and your work life separate, this being, if you are fighting
In dental hygiene this virtue should be applied to every patient during the communication process. Empathetic communication ensures patient satisfaction, enhanced diagnostic assessment, fewer lawsuits, and positive outcome of treatment. (RDH MAG) An article I read talked about how our society today has become so self-absorbed that recognizing others feelings are slim to none. As a hygienist I hope to change this perception about my generation because I often feel judged that I am automatically self-centered due to my age. Some ways I can improve my empathetic communication is to display eye contact, being cognizant of my facial expressions and actively listening. Lecturing or asking dental related questions that the patient may not understand must be avoided when communicating. Active listening is essential during the communication process since it shows the patient you understand and care about how they feel.
Observing a GP during patient consultations, seeing his genuine concern and caring interest in each case, demonstrated fully the importance of compassion and effective communication. In a GP home visit, I met an elderly lady with Alzheimer's, who displayed no wish to cooperate, something I initially found difficult to comprehend. However, on reflection I understood the patient's right to refuse treatment, perhaps indicating this person's wish to retain some control in their life. The variety of my work experience has meant that I have been in the company of professionals who exhibited traits I believe I have developed through mentoring and teaching. These traits such as courtesy and empathy would ensure that I adopt a composed manner in sensitive or stressful situations, enabling me to communicate my understanding of what they are experiencing both physically and
Professionalism in the workplace, is the absolute key to having a successful, and smoothly run business. Professionalism is something that must be maintained by every individual within the work setting, especially in health care, whether it is the janitor, activity director, nursing assistant, doctor, or even the head administrator. Professionalism encompasses many aspects, such as teamwork, attitude, environment, knowledge, morals, and ethics.
Everywhere you go and in everything you do, professionalism comes in to account in some way or another. Professionalism has been defined as, “a strict adherence to courtesy, honesty and responsibility when dealing with individuals or other companies in the business environment” (Clarke, 2015). When it comes to the career of nursing, professionalism is taken to a whole other level. Not only does professionalism come in to account with your business professionals and peers, but you have patients with whom professionalism is highly practiced as well. Professionalism in nursing means that you are able to handle all the responsibilities given to you in an efficient and proper way. It means that when you are given an order that needs to be carried out by a doctor or a patient who needs your help, you adhere to what is being expected of you in a timely manner. Physicians put trust into nurses in order to carry out orders that are needed to save patients’ lives. If you’re not looked at as professional and responsible, it is going to be very hard to have a successful career. Responsibility is what nursing is all about. Professionalism in nursing means that along with taking on big responsibilities, you have discipline. Discipline in nursing is crucial to being successful. Not only to keep your patients safe, but so that you personally are on the ball and looked at by others as professional, therefore, making you a great nurse. Professionalism means that you have the
In a highly respected profession such as nursing, professionalism is an important element to staying employed and setting one’s self apart from the rest of the applicants when competing for a potential job. By definition professionalism are the qualities and traits that describe a professional. While knowledge is crucial in any profession, according to an article published by the University of Kansas (2012), “all medical professionals must strive to retain those humanistic qualities integrity, respect, and compassion that constitute the essence of professionalism.” Whether you work in a hospital or administration these three qualities encompass the core of nursing and exemplify what it means to be a professional.
As healthcare professionals, dentists assume openly and take on responsibilities founded on the principle of non-maleficence - first do no harm. Some of the many characteristics of being an ethical dental professional are presented in the American College of Dentists Core Values.
The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines professionalism as the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person. Yet the White Paper on Pharmacy Student Professionalism says it is displaying values, beliefs and attitudes that put the needs of another about your personal needs. There is still another definition. The Medical Professionalism Project says professionalism is the basis of medicine's contract with society. It demands placing the interests of patients above those of the physician, setting and maintaining standards of competence and integrity, and providing expert advice to society on matters of health. In my opinion, a person's attitude, values, and behaviors