The Practice Guide
The Practice Guide: Medical Professionalism and College Policies, articulates our profession’ s values – compassion, service, altruism, and trustworthiness – which provide the foundation for the practice of medicine.
But the Practice Guide is much more than a blanket statement of positive values. It will assist you in determining your specific duties and explains the reasons for those duties. And because College policies are built right into the framework, it becomes clear how policies are grounded in the values and principles of practice. The format of the guide allows the values, principles and policies to flow into each other, providing both relevance and resonance.
Medical professionalism is the translation of these values into practice and underpins the social contract between the medical profession and the public: in return for the privilege of self-regulation, the profession makes a commitment to promote the public good.
The social contract is a covenant of the profession as a whole. Individual physicians are not expected to assume responsibility for society at large but to uphold the social contract through their commitment to their profession, their medical practice, and their patients.
Translating these values and principles into practice isn’ t always easy. But it is achievable. In fact, these values are exhibited daily in physicians’ offices and hospitals across Ontario, reflecting the profession’ s longstanding tradition of excellence.
However, the guide does not describe specific standards of practice, create legal obligations or provide guidance for every situation that may arise in the practice of medicine. For specific situations that are not covered here, you should rely on the values and principles to guide your practice, and do not hesitate to seek advice.
The guide’ s continued relevance demands that it reflect an evolving environment. So while values and principles are not likely to change, it is possible that specific duties and policies will.
To remain responsive, the College welcomes your feedback on the guide and the policies it frames. Key sections from the Practice Guide follow, and the complete guide and all policies and publications are available online under Policies and Publications.
The Practice Guide Table of Contents:
12 Values of the Profession
13 Principles of Practice and Duties
• Individually to the Patient
• Collectively to the Public
• To Yourself and Your Colleagues
18 Managing Conflicting Duties
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