How should health professionalism be redefined to address health equity?

Abstract

Increasing focus on health equity is placing a spotlight on health professionals' roles. Recent public health crises-the opioid epidemic, maternal mortality, and the COVID-19 pandemic-have renewed focus on racial and ethnic inequity and underscored that trust is foundational to public health and health professionalism. Organizational, system, and policy reform demand that professionalism be redefined in terms of its capacity to motivate equity in health professions education and clinical practice.