Professionalism has been described by the American Board of Internal Medicine as “constituting those attitudes and behaviors that serve to maintain patient interest above physician self-interest [1]”. The word profession is derived from profess which means ‘to proclaim something publicly’. Physicians profess two things: to be competent to help the patients and to have the patient’s best interests in mind. Such commitment invites trust from their patients. Professionalism is critical for physicians in order to provide optimum care and achieve better health outcomes. Professionalism is based on the principles of primacy of patient welfare, patient autonomy, and social justice. It involves the following professional responsibilities such as: honesty, patient confidentiality, appropriate relations with patients, improving quality of care, improving access to care, just distribution of finite resources, commitment to scientific knowledge, maintaining trust by managing conflicts of interest, commitment to professional responsibilities.

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