Much of what is formally taught in medicine is about the knowledge, skills, and behaviors required of a physician, including how to express compassion and respect for patients at the bedside. What is learned, however, includes not only admirable qualities but also behaviors and qualities that are inconsistent with ethics and professionalism. Positive role models may reinforce the character and values the profession seeks to cultivate; negative ones directly contradict classroom lessons and expectations of patients, society, and medical educators. These positive and negative lessons, which are embedded in organizational structure and culture, are the hidden curricula conveyed in medical schools, residency programs, hospitals, and clinics. This position paper from the American College of Physicians focuses on ethics, professionalism, and the hidden curriculum. It provides strategies for revealing what is hidden to foster the development of reflective and resilient lifelong learners who embody professionalism and clinicians who are, and are perceived as, positive role models. Making the hidden visible and the implicit explicit helps to create a culture reflecting medicine's core values.

医学上正式教授的很多内容都与医生所需的知识，技能和行为有关，包括如何在床旁表达同情心和对患者的尊重。但是，所学到的不仅包括令人钦佩的特质，而且还包括与道德和专业精神相悖的行为和特质。积极的榜样可以加强该行业寻求培养的性格和价值观；负面的意见直接与课堂教学以及患者，社会和医学教育者的期望背道而驰。这些积极和消极的教训都嵌入组织结构和文化中，是医学院，住院医师课程，医院和诊所传达的隐藏课程。美国医师学院的这份立场文件重点关注道德，专业精神，和隐藏的课程 它提供了揭示隐藏的内容的策略，以促进反思性和韧性的终身学习者的发展，这些学习者体现了专业精神，而临床医生则是并且被认为是积极的榜样。使隐藏的可见和隐式的显露有助于创建一种反映医学核心价值的文化。