CHARACTER
A Mnemonic for Evaluating Professionalism

Virginia Niebuhr PhD1, Neera Khilnani MD2, John Luk MD3, José Gonzalez MD4 

 

To be 'professional' means to show CHARACTER.
To be able to evaluate 'professionalism' requires reflection on the component parts.

Compassion

Honesty

Altruism

Responsibility

Advocacy

Confidentiality

Teamwork

Ethical Approach
Respect

 
 

PRISM ANALOGY
J
ust as a prism breaks light into its component parts,
the CHARACTER acronym breaks the construct of 'Professionalism' into its component parts.

 
 

 

SOURCES:
The CHARACTER acronym was developed using constructs from these sources: In 2017, one letter in the mnemonic was changed from A for Aiming for Excellence, to A for Advocacy (Niebuhr and Smith-Phillips).

  • Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
  • Gold Humanism Foundation
  • ABIM Physician Charter (2002)
  • UTMB Professionalism Charter

In 2017, one letter in the mnemonic was changed from A for Aiming for Excellence, to A for Advocacy (Niebuhr and Smith-Phillips).

RATIONALE

 

CURRICULUM Professionalism in Pediatrics is a curriculum with one module for each of the letters, including short readings and a Reflection activity.  

 

Applications and Dissemination Activities

 


 

CHARACTER was created during the development of a curriculum development project,
Professionalism in Pediatrics, funded in part by a grant
from the UTMB President's Office and the UTMB Professionalism Committee,2006 

 
  The University of Texas Medical Branch  

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