[Professionalism in psychiatry: looking both inward and outward].

Abstract

Background: Present challenges in (Dutch) mental health care touch upon the core of the social contract between the profession and society. This urges an explicit account of professionalism in psychiatry.

Aim: To present an integral model of medical professionalism in psychiatry.

Method: Conceptual analysis on the basis of sociological, philosophical and medical education literature.

Results: Professionalism can be analyzed in terms of 1) a set of competences, 2) an internalized professional identity 3) a collective professional practice that embodies the social contract.

Conclusion: Professionalism in psychiatry requires both an internal and an external focus – an attunement of one’s expertise to both one’s own professional values and ambitions and society’s (future) needs.