Professionalism-training in undergraduate medical education in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic setting in the Gulf Region: an exploration of reflective essays.

Integrating a professionalism-training course into an undergraduate medical curriculum is likely to be positively appraised by the learners. It raises their awareness, enables them to value the subject matter and the sophistication of its application, and empowers them to put into practice the taught principles, on an individual basis and collectively. This is especially true when the course is entrenched in constructivism experiential learning theory and designed to foster self-directed learning. The introduced conceptual model, in conjunction with the innovative professionalism-training course curriculum, can serve as a template for other competencies and other schools.