Professionalism... it depends where you're standing

Key Points Highlights the concept of professionalism from different theoretical viewpoints. Highlights the complexity of professionalism as a concept and its definition. Discusses the impact of how professionalism is defined upon the methods used to teach and assess it in educational programmes. Prompts readers to reflect upon how they view professionalism, which will have ramifications for educationalists and practitioners alike. There is a large body of literature relating to professionalism originating from a variety of academic disciplines. This has resulted in multiple definitions being reported, particularly in regards to medical education. This paper aims to give an overview of the different lenses through which professionalism may be viewed and how these might impact upon educational objectives and curricular design for student education.