Student Perspectives on Professionalism: Time to Reform Curriculum for Better Patient Experience

Professionalism is central to patient experience, however undergraduate medical education often emphasizes standardized frameworks over relational, context-sensitive learning. Students’ perspectives remain underrepresented in curriculum design despite shaping future care delivery. To synthesize undergraduate medical students’ views on professionalism education, identify barriers and enablers to learning, and highlight implications for curriculum reform and patient-centered care. A mixed-methods systematic review was conducted, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies published between 2010 and 2023. Four databases (PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Education Resources Information Center [ERIC]) were searched. Quality appraisal used the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool and thematic analysis was applied to integrate findings, emphasizing learner voices and links to patient experience. Fifty-four studies were included (38 qualitative, 16 quantitative/mixed methods). Students consistently emphasized the influence of role modeling by senior clinicians, reflective practice, patient narratives, and supportive learning environments. Barriers included inconsistent teaching, cultural dissonance between formal curricula and observed clinical behaviors, and lack of structured feedback. Learning was most impactful when professionalism teaching was embedded in real patient care, reinforced through observation, supervision, and reflection. Students perceive professionalism as relational practices, empathy, respect, integrity, and accountability that directly shape patient experience. Curricula should integrate structured role modeling, reflective exercises, patient narratives, and culturally responsive teaching. Centering student perspectives in curriculum design can better prepare graduates for context-sensitive, patient-centered practice.