Professionalism is a key skill for medical practitioners and has been part of medical training since the profession began. In the past, medical students learned professional behaviour by watching role models. While having suitable role models is still important, it is no longer enough on its own. Medical practice is becoming more complex, and students come from many different backgrounds, so medical schools now focus more on teaching professionalism directly. In recent years, professionalism has been recognized as an essential part of both undergraduate and postgraduate medical education around the world.

Incorporating medical professionalism into the main curriculum at many schools is still challenging. One reason for this is that professionalism can be hard to define; it depends on various factors like social and cultural contexts, ethical standards, national and institutional rules, and personal values and beliefs. Additionally, it can be difficult to make sure that students continue to develop their professionalism on their own as they move through their training and into their careers.

Despite these challenges, research shows that anatomy courses, particularly those involving dissection, offer medical students a special chance to learn important aspects of professionalism right from the start of their education. These studies also suggest ways to include the teaching of medical professionalism into the main curriculum effectively.

It is essential that anatomy educators are aware of opportunities and possibilities to incorporate teaching of medical professionalism into their curricula, which is one of the reasons why we have developed a survey tool (can be found in the project Guidebook and EDUC course) as part of this project chapter on professionalism. We are inviting you to broaden your knowledge base and use self-assessment tools to find out your opinions on medical professionalism in general and the extent to which it is taught within the context of your institution/department. We hope that you will find the information and recommendations provided in the Guidebook, EDUC course, and following sections to be relevant and useful.