ProFESS: Changing the Way Multidisciplinary Student's Professional Behaviour Lapses Are Identified and Managed. An Evaluation of Educators' Perspectives

Background

Best practice evidence for identifying and managing professional behaviour lapses in a multidisciplinary context is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate multidisciplinary educators' attitudes and perceptions of the ProFESS (Professional standards, Ethical Behaviour and Student Support) framework and its companion Fitness for Practice model, designed and implemented at a large Australian university to address this using a behaviour change approach.

Methods

A 72-item survey based on the Context, Input, Process, Product evaluation framework was completed by 92 multidisciplinary faculty educators and analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Content analysis of open text responses occurred.

Findings

ProFESS and Fitness for Practice were found to be acceptable irrespective of the discipline using them, providing a supportive, transparent, consistent approach for identifying and managing a professional behaviour lapse. Other key strengths of the framework included its student-centredness and fostering a sense of safety for respondents with potential to improve student-educator relationships.

Discussion

Our findings suggest that ProFESS enhances educators' confidence in managing professional behaviour lapses and that its structural flexibility and adaptability underpin its acceptability for multidisciplinary educators. Many of its positive attributes address the failure to fail barriers. The ProFESS method provides opportunities for greater consistency of application as it does not require individual interpretation of behaviour but does require education and training to apply consistently.

Conclusions

The acceptability of the ProFESS/FfP framework in a multidisciplinary healthcare education context is promising for integrating support and standards, fostering a safety culture for educators and reducing ‘failure to fail’ barriers.