Communication, integrity and skills & knowledge are key to professionalism, say patients

Good communication, integrity, skills & knowledge are the key components to professionalism, according to a new report from the GCC Patient Community. In its first set of findings, the Patient Community also found reassurance from the regulatory oversight of the profession, giving them additional confidence in registrants' abilities and standards of professionalism.

Established in early 2022, the new GCC Patient Community has examined professionalism from the patient perspective and considered if patients’ definition of professionalism match those of registrants and the profession. The report explored specific elements of professionalism, for example the impact on business interests, the consumer vs patient dynamic and the role of clinical expertise. 

There were six main findings:

1. Patients have a positive experience of chiropractic care and are treated with compassion and respect. They perceive the professionalism of chiropractors to be on a par with other healthcare professionals, such as dentists.

2. Patients frequently associate words such as knowledge, understanding, listening, politeness and respect as defining professionalism. These are fundamental to excellent patient-centred care and a professional healthcare environment.

3. Views of professionalism are based on the interactions of patients with chiropractors. In contrast, research with GCC registrants revealed professionalism to be more multi-faceted, demonstrating leadership, inter-professional working and professional development as equally important to them. These additional aspects of professionalism are less visible to patients.

4. Patients recognise the transactional nature of the relationship with most chiropractors. However, most identified themselves as patients rather than customers, although the two perspectives were not thought to be mutually exclusive. 

5. Patients did not spontaneously refer to the need for chiropractors to maintain professionalism outside the workplace. However, they did not condone extreme or illegal behaviours or chiropractors overstepping the boundaries of the patient-professional relationship, including inappropriate use of social media.

6. Few patients had any knowledge of the GCC but assumed that there was oversight. Confidence in the profession increased when they discovered more about the GCC and its functions.

The report findings will inform several registrant-focussed projects and outputs in 2023, mainly defining and communicating professionalism to patients and using the GCC I'm Registered brand.