Professionalism Prof. Wasantha Gunathunga Course unit Advisor, professionalism 18 th June 2013

What is a profession and what is professionalism

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines professionalism as "the conduct, aims, or qualities that characterize or mark a profession or a professional person"; and it defines a profession as "a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation.“

Not all business areas have a stable core of knowledge (and the academic qualifications that go with this); not all areas demand extensive knowledge to practice successfully; and not all professionals have top degrees in their field. Eg. Dr. Pubilis Silva of Mount Lavinia Hotel

What matters, though, is that these professionals have worked in a serious, thoughtful and sustained way to master the specialized knowledge needed to succeed in their fields; and that they keep this knowledge up-to-date, so that they can continue to deliver the best work possible

Examples Prof. Ediriweera Sarathchandra Luxman Kadiragamar Dr. Pabilis Silva Gotabhaya Rajapaksha Who are your examples and why?

Some attributes of prefessionalism Specialized knowledge.- Competency. Honesty and integrity. Respect. Accountability. Self-regulation. Image.

Emotional intelligence Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize your emotions, understand what they're telling you, and realize how your emotions affect people around you. Emotional intelligence also involves your perception of others: when you understand how they feel, this allows you to manage relationships more effectively.

Body-mind- consciousness: the foundation of all soft skills

Nerves System Mental Function Speech Cranial nerves Sensory System Motor System Reflexes Gait Skull Spine Meninges

Mental Functions Thinking Feeling Perceiving Willing Remembering

From Review of Medical Physiology by Ganong Neuro-physiology Nervous System Mental Functions Learning Implicit memory Explicit memory Processing of information from senses Coding of information

“information from senses….processed in a way not yet fully understood” Ganong RMP 22 nd ed. P.271

Other approaches Meditation methods TM Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Mindfulness – Jon Kabat Zinn, Prof. emeritus of medicine, uni of Massachusetts, USA

some useful outcomes of contemplative neuro- scientific Qualitative research in the past A Living being has three components Body, mind, consciousness

Body Mind, consciousness Mental Functions Mental functions involves mind and consciousness

Body, mind and consciousness – an analogy

Thinking Feeling Perceiving Attachment Conflict BodyMind consciousness willing

Contemplative Science Feeling, Perceiving, Willing

Point where contemplation is applied Feeling Perceiving Attachment Conflict BodyMind consciousness willing

Developing dual vision eye 5 5 5

Watching the dynamic mind and not stopping Let the mind be dynamic Need to keep the body static

Contemplating on body With 25 identified parts of the body

25 parts of the body for scanning Head, forehead, right eye, nose, left eye, right cheek, left cheek, mouth, chin, neck, (10) chest upper, chest lower, abdomen upper, abdomen middle, abdomen lower, (5) r. thigh, r. knee, r. shin, r. foot. r. toes, (5) left thigh, l. knee, l. shin, l. foot, l. toes. (5)

Stopping at feeling and perceiving Body pains Sounds Thoughts

Activity Trial journey

Contemplating on pain Watching pain as separate

Automatic Seeing how mind works seeing pain, thoughts, and body as separate

Clinical application

FeelingPerceiving Attachment Conflict BodyMind consciousness willing pain Pain

FeelingPerceiving Attachment Conflict BodyMind consciousness willing OCD Depressi ve thoughts hallucinati ons

Enormous health and clinical opportunities Enormous health and clinical opportunities For relief and cure For relief and cure

Thank you Thank you