ST310
Concorde Career College
 What
does it mean to be a member of a
profession?
• From the Latin professio, which means a public
declaration with the force of a promise.
 University of Washington School of Medicine, 2011
Professions are groups which declare in a public
way that their members promise to act or behave
in certain ways and that the group and the
society may discipline those who fail to do so.
 The profession presents itself to society as a
social benefit and society accepts the profession,
expecting it to serve some important social goal.
 The profession usually issues a code of ethics
stating the standards by which its members can
be judged.
 The traditional professions are medicine, law,
education and clergy.


University of Washington School of Medicine, 2011
 Is
a profession
different that a
business?
 If so, how?
 Professionals
engage
in business but…
• They have fiduciary
duty
• What is our fiduciary
duty?
 http://www.ast.org/st
ate_assemblies/docu
ments/ST_Jun07_Cod
eofConduct_000.pdf
 http://www.ast.org/a
boutus/documents/A
ST_Code_of_Ethics.p
df
• Adopted 2007
 The
conduct, aims, or qualities that
characterize or mark a profession or
a professional person
 Merriam-Webster, 2012
 Trustworthy
 Competent
 Respectful
 Considerate
 Empathetic
 Dependable
 Acts with Integrity
 Courteous
 Cooperative
 Committed
 Teachable
 Accountable
 How
 Are
do others perceive our actions?
we being professional?
 How
do we leave a professional
impression on our peers and colleagues?
 How
do others judge
our level of
professionalism?
 Are
we building a
reputation for
ourselves? If so, What
type?
 We
are judged by
our…
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Behavior
Attitude
Demeanor
Communication
Body Language
Values
Interpersonal skills
Appearance
Hygiene
 How
is our level of professionalism
measured?
• Against standards and guidelines
 Hospital policy, compliance, professional
organizations, scope of practice, job description
• Standard of care
• Surgical conscience
• Professional ethics
• Competence and Skill
 Professionalism
the eye of the
beholder!
is in
 What
does an unprofessional person look
like? What do they act like?
 Ultimately, these
individuals do not
conform to the standards of the
profession.
 What
expectations do other
perioperative professionals have of us?
 What
expectations does the facility have?
 What
about the patient’s expectations?
 At
what point do you cross professional
boundaries?
 How can those boundaries be crossed?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Communication
Relationships
Self Disclosure
Exploitation
Breach of confidence
Negligence
Apathy
Lack of team work
 Why
are boundaries
important in the first
place?
 As
surgical
technologists, why
are we at work in the
first place?
Aeger Primo!

How do you keep your personal baggage out of
the workplace?
• Balance of work and personal life
 Time management
• Stability
• Priorities
• Re-examine your personal life
• Expect the unexpected!

What about emotional baggage?
• Stability
• Outside outlet
 Deal with frustration constructively

While you’re waiting for the anesthesiologist to
sedate a middle-aged patient scheduled for a
colectomy, the attending surgeon walks in and
announces that he has some music to play. You’re
startled to hear police sirens and profanities coming
out of the CD player. The music is loud and vulgar.
While you prepare the patient, you’re shocked by the
liberal use of profanity, racial slurs, and derogatory
statements in the lyrics of the song. You look at
others members of the operative team to gauge their
reactions. They go about their work, shaking their
heads or rolling their eyes. The surgeon steps out to
scrub.
 Bruce, 2012
 Is
this behavior unprofessional, and if so,
how?
 What would you do?
• Excuse yourself from the OR
• Turn down the music while the surgeon is out
• While the surgeon is out, inquire how others feel
and develop a collaborative approach
• Don’t say anything at all
• Confront the surgeon directly
 Susan
is a student who often posts Facebook
status updates about her experience in the
OR and sometimes these comments include
funny anecdotes. Examples include: “Wow,
don’t you think that most people would
come to the doctor before their toes fall
off?” or “You know you need to lose weight
when we can’t get you on the operating
table.”
 Bruce, 2012
 Is
this appropriate? Why or why not?
 Has social media impacted professional
behavior? If so, how?

You observe a medical mistake during a
procedure in the operating room. “The error
does not result in the patient’s death, but requires
the patient to extend his stay in the hospital
several days. In addition, the postoperative pain
experienced by the patient is more significant
than it would have been otherwise. The
attending physician informs the patient that there
was a complication during the procedure, but
does not specify that it was secondary to his
error. How do you respond?
 JAMA, 2001
 How
do you respond?
 What if you are a student, does this
change things?
 You
never get a
second chance to
make a first
impression!
 Sell
yourself!
 Activity:
http://www.drexel.edu/scdc/resources/s
amples/Interviewing/Thirty%20Second
%20Commercial%20Worksheet.pdf