Part of professionalism in healthcare is being service oriented. Consider that workplace team members, vendors, patients/ clients, and families or other support people are all the “customers” you will serve in healthcare. Think about how you like to be treated when you are relying on someone to serve you or help you. Whether you are in the process of buying something new, ordering food, or needing a healthcare provider to put in a prescription for your medication, we want to feel respected. Patients will look to you to take care of them when they are vulnerable. By showing professionalism, healthcare workers can build trust which can improve patient outcomes and ensure patients continue to come to an organization for consistent care.

Consider when you are a patient or customer yourself. Imagine a scenario where you enter a place of business and arrive at the front desk, looking to talk to a staff member. Imagine that the front desk staff seem busy, and while you wait in front of them, they don’t even look up from their work to acknowledge you. As you keep waiting for them to notice, you may get frustrated and want to leave. Being made to feel frustrated and invisible is never the goal. When staff make eye contact with you, welcome you in, and let you know you are the priority, it can help support the patient in getting the best quality service, decreasing stress and discomfort in this vulnerable setting.

This focus on patient experience is called a service-oriented approach. Have you ever entered a place where two employees are talking about personal matters, such as someone they are dating, instead of serving you? This is unprofessional as they are not focused on the customer or the business of their workplace. If they are on a break, they should be away from the service area. It is alright to converse with co-workers but when a person comes in, the focus should be on work duties and/or customers. No matter what an employee’s role is in the organization, everyone should contribute to serving others, like smiling at people as they come in, helping a patient find their way to a department, or opening the door for someone with full hands.

Sometimes we will have to care for people who live in ways that do not align with our personal values and beliefs. The ethical value of justice means that even though the person we are caring for may have just participated in violence toward another person, they deserve healthcare. It can be difficult to leave our opinions and emotions at the door.