Fostering professionalism among health professionals: the essential role of self-regulated and self-directed aptitudes of learning

Historically, professionalism was acquired through emulating role models, especially in the medical field— a method less suited to today’s evolving health context. This ongoing evolution has prompted the reform and formalization of professionalism education and evaluation, recognizing that professionalism is learned, not an inherent attribute. However, while these reforms are progressing, they often overlook individual learning aptitudes, which are crucial given the dynamic, timedependent, and societal nature of professionalism. To address these aspects of professionalism, it seems beneficial to factor in individual learning aptitudes, specifically self-directed learning and self-regulation, which the literature highlights as essential for health professionals. These aptitudes, once instilled and turned into behaviors, enhance academic and clinical performance, fostering lifelong learning throughout health professionals’ careers. This perspective discusses the essential role of these learning behaviors, focusing on self-regulated and selfdirected aptitudes of learning (SELF-ReDiAL, or in short SR), in promoting professionalism among health professionals. SR, a holistic framework that considers both self-regulation and self-directedness in learners, was recently introduced to clarify the definitions of selfregulated learning and self-directed learning, particularly in medical education.