TY - JOUR T1 - Professional attitudes: can they be taught and assessed in medical education? JF - Clinical Medicine JO - Clin Med SP - 217 LP - 223 DO - 10.7861/clinmedicine.2-3-217 VL - 2 IS - 3 AU - Jonathan Martin AU - Margaret Lloyd AU - Surinder Singh Y1 - 2002/05/01 UR - http://www.rcpjournals.org/content/2/3/217.abstract N2 - The medical profession is under increasing scrutiny with regard to the undesirable attitudes and behaviours of some of its members. Despite the setting of objectives for professional attitudes, it remains unclear how these can be taught and assessed. Having defined ‘attitudes’, we consider some of the influences upon the development of professional attitudes within medicine. We then review possible ways of encouraging desirable attitudes and behaviours. Finally, we review and critique the main types of attitude assessment. We conclude that attitudes are complex, that the influence of medical culture is crucial, and that feasible assessment tools have yet to be developed. ER -