FUNDAMENTALS OF GOOD MEDICAL PRACTICE: THE BASIS OF PROFESSIONALISM

he word „Professionalism‟ is derived from the Latin „professio‟. According to the Merriam-Webster‟s Collegiate Dictionary, „Professionalism‟ is defined as “the conduct, aims and qualities that characterize or mark a profession or professional person” 1 , or in wider, general terms it is defined as “a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive preparation including instruction in skills and methods as well as in scientific, historical, or scholarly principles underlying such skills and methods, which is to be regulated and maintained by rules of an organization or concerted opinion to pursue high standards of achievement and conduct, and committing its members to continued study and a kind of work which is primarily dedicated to the public service” 1,2 .