Assessing medical professionalism among students at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy in 2023: A multi-method evaluation approach

Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours related to medical professionalism among fifth-year medical students by using three assessment tools aligned with different competency levels in Miller’s Pyramid and to analyse correlations among these assessment approaches. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 401 fifth-year medical students at Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy. Three tools were used: (1) the Penn State College of Medicine Professionalism Questionnaire (PSCOM), (2) Barry’s scenario-based questionnaire, and (3) an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) evaluating communication and professionalism using standardised patients. Data were analysed using t-tests and Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: The average scores (converted to a 100-point scale) were: PSCOM 81.3, Barry’s scenario-based questionnaire 45.5, and OSCE 79.0 (p<0.001). There were significant positive correlations between PSCOM and Barry’s scenario-based questionnaire (r=0.12; p<0.05) and between PSCOM and the OSCE score (r=0.16; p<0.01). Conclusion: Assessment of medical professionalism should adopt a multidimensional, multi-method approach to comprehensively and objectively reflect learners’ competencies. It should also support a progressive evaluation process aligned with the advancing stages of professionalism training in medical education.