Medical

Jacob Temple
Med. Term
8/23/08
Professionalism Paper
What characteristics make up a professional? Is it any one trait that somebody has or someone with a high paying profession? No, a professional is someone who has many desirable traits for their job and does high quality work, as well as many other things. In my report I am going to use a doctor as an example.
For a person to be a professional in my eyes, they first have to have extensive knowledge and the right skills for the career they are in. Doctors have to be able to assess illnesses and prescribe medications correctly for the patient to recover (and not get sued by that patient!) Another trait to have is a healthy lifestyle. If a doctor can’t take care of their own health, how well do you expect them to take care of yours? They need good communication skills and need to be able to cooperate with other professionals to interact with people and to be successful. They need the right mindset as well. This would include being a hard worker, a positive and polite attitude, good ethics (confidentiality of patients, making good choices, and more), respect for others, obedience of regulations and restrictions, etc. They also need proper dress attire for their profession.
Some other things that make a professional what they are are not necessarily what they do, but what they do not do. A few examples of this is neglecting to do the right thing and being a corrupt person by any means. Other examples are taking credit for someone else’s work and blackmailing or disrespecting another person. These types of things are not acceptable if you want to be known as a professional.
These traits are what I believe makes a true professional. Many times professionals in careers are also leaders and role models in their community. It is something everybody should strive for in their respective professions, and when I go into a career it is something that I want to be acknowledged as.