Professional advocacy and citizenship: a continuing journey that begins during residency
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REFLECTIONS
Professional advocacy and citizenship: a continuing journey that begins during residency Rohan Kothari, MD . Janny Xue Chen Ke, MD . Daniel Bainbridge, MD, FRCPC . Dolores M. McKeen, MD, FRCPC Received: 19 August 2019 / Revised: 24 July 2020 / Accepted: 27 July 2020 Ó Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society 2020
In the recent article, On the Road to Professionalism, ‘‘humility, servant leadership, self-awareness, attention to personal well-being, responsibility, lifelong learning, selfregulation, and honesty and integrity’’ were highlighted as key elements of professionalism in the practice of anesthesiology.1 It was further stated that ‘‘Professionalism is both a commitment and a skill—a competency—that we practice over a lifetime.’’1 Indeed, professionalism in anesthesia has been recognized as a multifaceted topic that requires not just individual but also system-wide strategies to foster it.2
Professionalism and advocacy Medicine is a profession where there is ‘‘a mastery of a complex body of knowledge and skills’’, and a vocation where that knowledge is used to serve others.3 The concept of professionalism is a reflection of a group’s collective
R. Kothari, MD Department of Anesthesia, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada J. X. C. Ke, MD Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management, and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada D. Bainbridge, MD, FRCPC Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada D. M. McKeen, MD, FRCPC (&) Department of Anesthesiology, Pain Management, and Perioperative Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada e-mail: [email protected] IWK Women’s & Obstetric Department of Anesthesia, Halifax, NS, Canada
identity, standards, and ideology.4 The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada states that as professionals, ‘‘physicians are committed to the health and well-being of individual patients and society through ethical practice, high personal standards of behaviour, accountability to the profession and society, physician-led regulation, and maintenance of personal health’’.5 The national landscape of medicine is evolving rapidly, with limited resources, consumerism, and managed healthcare all necessitating greater advocacy by physicians.6,7 Anesthesiologists, as professionals, are well positioned to advocate for patients, colleagues, and our healthcare system, and in doing so, address this everchanging medical landscape. Through interactions with other medical and surgical specialities, allied health practitioners, and health administrators, anesthesiologists can influence system-level changes not only within healthcare institutions, but also at both provincial and national levels. For example, regional anesthesiology groups and national societies have been instrumental in the rapid collective response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, including the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society (CAS)-led educational seminars, online resources, and funding o
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