Table 2.

Constituent elements of professionalism perceived by Japanese DHs

Intrapersonal professionalism
Personality	Faith, honesty, earnestness, passion, affection, virtue
Ethical behaviour	Justice, morality, fairness, altruism, autonomy
Lifelong learning	Pursuit of expertise, reflective practice, inquiring mind, self-improvement, spirit of progress, curiosity
Interpersonal professionalism
Caring for patients	Facing, learning from each other, faith in life’s meaning and value, being thoughtful, compromising, understanding others’ point of view, acceptance of self, acceptance of others, empathy, compassion, consideration
Interprofessional collaboration	Dissemination ability, flexibility, being influential, multifaceted vision, trust, rapport building, adaptation to circumstances, comprehensive thinking, viewpoint of primary care, management, mutual understanding among professionals, cooperativeness, problem presentation, internationalism
Public professionalism
High level of expertise	Knowledge, clinical skills, evidence-based medicine, educational ability, logical thinking, ability to find and solve problems, reflection, Inference-making/reasoning abilities, good clinical judgement, being competent person, working efficiently
Roles and responsibilities	Contribution, obligation, self-consciousness, sense of mission, being a role model, career development, sense of responsibility
Vision for societal and organisational development	Independence, skills to overcome adversity, innovative ability, creativity, ability to respond at work, autonomy of professional associations, being active, planning ahead, leadership, clarification of professional values