Professional Development in Practice: An Exploratory Study With Attending Physicians

This study examined professional development in practice. Interview data from 20 medical attending physicians suggested their professional practice progressed through four stages: (a) becoming familiar with the basic skills and operations of a profession, (b) building professional competence, (c) shifting practice from self-centered to client-centered, and (d) developing a continuous concern for the profession. Professional development is a life-long learning process. Attending physicians must continue learning after residency to acquire not only expert-level clinical competencies but also a set of personal qualities and attitudes that constitute the core of professionalism. Senior attending physicians stressed the importance of providing and receiving mentoring in professional development. A general model of professional development in practice was proposed.