Professional Identity Formation Research Articles

Sınıf Öğretmenlerinin Mesleki Kimlik Oluşumlarının Seçilmiş Bazı Değişkenler Açısından İncelenmesi

Abstract
 
 This study aims to provide a comparison or integration of findings obtained both quantitatively and qualitatively in terms of certain independent variables determined by using a parallel mixed-method design regarding teachers' professional identity constructions. Quantitative data were collected using the "Scale of Classroom Teachers' Professional Identity Formation/Construction Context" with a parallel mixed-method design, while qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews based on the determined variables. Two separate sets of data were collected and analyzed separately, and interpretations were made after the data's association, merging, or comparison phase. The participants of the study were determined separately according to data groups. The quantitative sample consists of 362 classroom teachers working in Elazığ. The qualitative study group was determined with a maximum variety sampling method according to purposeful sampling, consisting of 15 classroom teachers. Results indicate that classroom teachers' professional identity formations are similar in terms of gender variable. No difference was found in the professional identity formations of classroom teachers based on age and having children. Qualitative findings show that there are many opinions on the presence of the effect of these variables, but these effects are both positive and negative in the formation of professional identity, resulting in an overlap between the two data groups. No significant difference was found in the professional identity formations of classroom teachers based on marital status. In qualitative findings, opinions were reported in both directions, and it was concluded that marital status had a positive effect in both directions. Education level, professional seniority, and the presence of a classroom teacher in the family did not affect their professional identity formations, but qualitative findings revealed that there were many opinions indicating the presence of this effect.

Assessment of professional identity formation: a transcultural validation of the professional identity essay for brazilian portuguese

IntroductionProfessional identity formation (PIF) is recognized worldwide as an outcome of medical education grounded in the psychology of adult development and the literature on medical professionalism. However, instruments to assess and support PIF are scarce. The Professional Identity Essay (PIE) is an open-ended question assessment of PIF that elicits short narrative responses from learners and that can be analyzed to provide formative feedback and an overall stage of development. In this study, our aim was to translate and adapt the PIE to Brazilian Portuguese.MethodsWe followed a systematic procedure for the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the instrument. A pilot study was conducted with medical students from the University of São Paulo. After providing individual formative feedback, we administered an online questionnaire to the Brazilian students to better understand the consequences of using the PIE. Content analyses of qualitative data were performed, we employ manifest content analysis, and the categories of analysis emerged from the participants’ speeches.ResultsStudents found the instrument’s questions easy to interpret and self-reflective. It also gave students the opportunity to consider their PIF. The PIE was perceived as reliable and brought more awareness of the students’ own processes in addition to a sense of capability to foster their own development. In the same way, the students emphasized the importance of being helped in this process.ConclusionWe found sufficient evidence of the validity of the PIE in terms of content, face validity, and consequences of use. The PIE enhances self-assurance in PIF through formative assessment and is sensitive to different cultures, making it a potential tool for educators.

Placement experiences as identity work: crafting fit with professional possibilities

ABSTRACT Placement as a form of work-integrated learning is a valued element of undergraduate education. Prior work explores how placement provides a site for developing professional values, skills and competences as well as identifying how students build awareness of professional requirements. Greater focus on how such processes of awareness are realised, negotiated and enacted is still required. This study frames student placement experiences as enabling processes of recursive negotiation between the self and the setting. The empirical contribution is to document and track this with 40 students on accounting placements, interviewed at three points in time (pre-, during, post-placement) exploring their subjective experiences. Findings evidence various trajectories of experience emerging from which a model capturing four distinct forms of fit (personal, reflected, projected, absence of fit) with professional identity is developed. This suggests student placement experiences in all their variations lead to and constitute more than merely technical or academic outcomes. Conceptually framing placement experiences as recursive negotiations between the self and the setting in the professionalisation journey uncovers how professional identity formation processes are constructed and (re)negotiated. As well as providing students with terminology to understand and articulate the multiplicity of possible placement experiences, educators, employers and professional bodies can benefit from the more nuanced possibilities for work-integrated learning that are suggested.

Integrating professional identity formation into experiential pharmacy education and training.

In an effort to expedite the publication of articles, AJHP is posting manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time.

Formation of a Teacher's Professional Identity: an Emotional Component

Formation of a Teacher's Professional Identity: an Emotional Component

The ‘Clinical Humanities & Wellbeing programme’- sustainable healthcare education for an era of uncertainty

This article presents a case study where integration of arts and humanities into a clinical programme is being implemented at scale, as core mandatory learning for all students within a UK dental, undergraduate context. The cross-disciplinary programme described, that integrates the Humanities with Clinical Sciences, is a longitudinal professional identity formation curriculum for sustainable oral healthcare which aligns with the UK dental regulator’s proposals for a ‘safe practitioner’ framework for new graduates. The Clinical Humanities & Wellbeing modules embrace the emotional and attitudinal aspects of learning and educate clinical students for the practical wisdom (phronesis) required to deliver 21st century oral healthcare in an era of uncertainty. The overarching aim of the curriculum and its accompanying assessment is to promote critical reflection, student insight and development of integrity, reflexivity, and responsibility. Enabling the subjectification of professional identity formation in this cross-disciplinary way aims to develop students as ‘safe practitioners’, with increased professional autonomy, responsible for their own actions, and who are better equipped for the uncertainties and phronesis of clinical practice. At present, the programme is being evaluated, employing illuminative evaluation methodology and we present some tentative initial findings. The authors believe that this unique approach and signature pedagogy is, with careful curation, transferrable to other health professions’ contexts.

Ethical concerns surrounding artificial intelligence in anatomy education: Should AI human body simulations replace donors in the dissection room?

The potential effects of artificial intelligence (AI) on the teaching of anatomy are unclear. We explore the hypothetical situation of human body donors being replaced by AI human body simulations and reflect on two separate ethical concerns: first, whether it is permissible to replace donors with AI human body simulations in the dissection room when the consequences of doing so are unclear, and second, the overarching ethical significance of AI use in anatomy education. To do this, we highlight the key benefits of student exposure to the dissection room and body donors, including nontechnical, discipline-independent skills, awareness and interaction with applied bioethics, and professional identity formation. We suggest that the uniqueness of the dissection room experience and the importance of the key benefits accompanying this exposure outweigh the potential and so far unknown benefits of AI technology in this space. Further, the lack of engagement with bioethical principles that are intimately intertwined with the dissection room experience may have repercussions for future healthcare professional development. We argue that interaction with body donors must be protected and maintained and not replaced with AI human body donor simulations. Any move away from this foundation of anatomy education requires scrutiny. In light of the possible adoption of AI technologies into anatomy teaching, it is necessary that medical educators reflect on the dictum that the practice of healthcare, and anatomy, is a uniquely human endeavor.

Developing and integrating professional resilience: influencing factors for social workers as students and new practitioners

ABSTRACT Increasingly complex practice contexts challenge social workers’ resilience, impacting workforce attraction and retention. This study comprised longitudinal and qualitative research to understand what influences professional resilience development, maintenance and integration. Purposive sampling resulted in the inclusion of 23 participants from eight Australian universities. Interviews occurred when the participants were students nearing the completion of a Master of Social Work (Qualifying) degree and again after approximately six months of post-qualifying practice. The results reveal social workers’ resilience develops over time through processing experiences that occur within contexts and shape professional identity. Supportive relationships are integral to this process, becoming protective resources during adversity. In universities and human service organisations, relationships with peers, teams, direct line managers, and supervisors are crucial for enabling insight and growth through critically reflecting on experiences and understanding their impact on professional identity formation and resilience. A disparity emerged between the expectation of available resources as a student and the reality as a newly qualified social worker. The relational nature of resilience has implications for educating social work students and preparing them for practice realities, organisations seeking to sustain a resilient workforce, and practitioners who navigate these complex contexts.

Professional identity formation among undergraduate pre-medical students: a scoping review protocol

BackgroundProfessional Identity formation is the process by which learners internalize a profession’s values, behaviors, and perceptions. With respect to physicians, this occurs at multiple levels of medical education, including the undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education stages. Professional identity formation likely starts even earlier, during the undergraduate pre-medical years but, to date, no known scoping or systematic review has been conducted on this topic. The objective of this scoping review is to systematically map the literature on professional identity formation among undergraduate pre-medical students.MethodsThis review protocol has been designed following the Arksey and O’Malley framework. We will search MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Scopus, as well as relevant grey literature, conference proceedings, and citations of selected articles. Inclusion criteria are articles (1) written in the English language, (2) involving undergraduate pre-medical students in the USA and Canada, and (3) containing original data about professional identity formation. Two independent reviewers will evaluate the titles, abstracts, and full articles for eligibility. A third reviewer will help resolve any disputes. Once the full text of articles are obtained, data will be abstracted using a standardized form. A narrative summary of findings will then be conducted, as well as a consultation exercise with university pre-medical students, pre-med advisors, and first-year medical students.DiscussionBy conducting this scoping review, we expect to gain a better understanding of how the experiences of undergraduate pre-medical students impact their professional identity formation. These findings will help to identify gaps in the literature, to better characterize professional identity formation in the specific context of the undergraduate pre-medical track, and to outline potential approaches to facilitate professional identity formation among undergraduate pre-medical students.Systematic review registrationThe protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework (htps://osf.io/nfzxc).

Re-examining single-moment-in-time high-stakes examinations in specialist training: A critical narrative review

In this critical narrative review, we challenge the belief that single-moment-in-time high-stakes examinations (SMITHSEx) are an essential component of contemporary specialist training. We explore the arguments both for and against SMITHSEx, examine potential alternatives, and discuss the barriers to change. SMITHSEx are viewed as the “gold standard” assessment of competence but focus excessively on knowledge assessment rather than capturing essential competencies required for safe and competent workplace performance. Contrary to popular belief, regulatory bodies do not mandate SMITHSEx in specialist training. Though acting as significant drivers of learning and professional identity formation, these attributes are not exclusive to SMITHSEx. Skills such as crisis management, procedural skills, professionalism, communication, collaboration, lifelong learning, reflection on practice, and judgement are often overlooked by SMITHSEx. Their inherent design raises questions about the validity and objectivity of SMITHSEx as a measure of workplace competence. They have a detrimental impact on trainee well-being, contributing to burnout and differential attainment. Alternatives to SMITHSEx include continuous low-stakes assessments throughout training, ongoing evaluation of competence in the workplace, and competency-based medical education (CBME) concepts. These aim to provide a more comprehensive and context-specific assessment of trainees’ competence while also improving trainee welfare. Specialist training colleges should evolve from exam providers to holistic education sources. Assessments should emphasise essential practical knowledge over trivia, align with clinical practice, aid learning, and be part of a diverse toolkit. Eliminating SMITHSEx from specialist training will foster a competency-based approach, benefiting future medical professionals’ well-being and success.

Enhancing professional identity of first-year occupational therapy students with the community-academia student tutoring program

Introduction: Delayed professional identity of occupational therapists inhibits successful transition from student to professional. One of the objectives of development of the Community–Academia Student Tutoring (CAST) program is to encourage professional identity formation among first-year undergraduate occupational therapy students. It focuses on developing competence in communication and professional knowledge through a learning-community setting while interacting with individuals with disabilities, thus enhancing students’ self-reflection abilities. Methods: Mixed-method design assessing change before and after participation among 193 students, in competence components essential for professional identity, and factors supporting its formation. Open-ended questions assessed the students’ perceived contribution of the CAST program. Results: Significantly higher competence in knowledge about people with disabilities and relating to them; increased sense of belonging to a learning community and self-reflection abilities compared to before. Relationship with a person with disability and belonging to a learning community predicted 25.4% of the variance in perceptions of program contribution. Central in the students’ experience were development of self-reflection abilities and interpersonal relationship skills, and learning occupational-therapy concepts through meeting people with disabilities. Conclusions: First-hand relationships with people with disability and self-reflection in a structured learning-community setting, may help develop first-year students’ communication skills and their professional identity as occupational therapists.

"It's What We Can Do Right Now": Professional Identity Formation Among Internal Medicine Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a consequential moment of disruption for medical training that has far-reaching implications for professional identity formation (PIF). To date, this has not been studied. As medical education grapples with a postpandemic era, it is essential to gain insight into how the pandemic has influenced PIF to better support its positive influences and mitigate its more detrimental effects. This study examined how PIF occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic to better adapt future medical training. Constructivist grounded theory guided the iterative data collection and analyses. The authors conducted semistructured group interviews with 24 Ontario internal medicine residents in postgraduate years (PGYs) 1 to 3 between November 2020 and July 2021. Participants were asked to reflect on their day-to-day clinical and learning experiences during the pandemic. Twenty-four internal medicine residents were interviewed (12 PGY-1 [50.0%], 9 PGY-2 [37.5%], and 3 PGY-3 [12.5%]). Participants described how navigating patient care and residency training through the pandemic consistently drew their attention to various system problems. How participants responded to these problems was shaped by an interplay among their personal values, their level of personal wellness or burnout, self-efficacy, institutional values, and the values of their supervisors and work community. As they were influenced by these factors, some were led toward acting on the problem(s) they identified, whereas others had a sense of resignation and deferred action. These interactions were evident in participants' experiences with communication, advocacy, and learning. Residents' professional identities are continuously shaped by how they perceive, reconcile, and address various challenges. As residents navigate tensions between personally held values and apparent system values, individuals in supervisory positions should be mindful of their influence as role models who empower values and practices that are recognized by participants to be important aspects of physician identity.

A Pilot Study of Art Museum-Based Small Group Learning for Pre-Health Students.

Health professions educators are increasingly recognizing the fundamental role the arts and humanities play in professional identity formation; however, few reports exist of programs designed specifically for pre-health professional students. We designed and delivered four, 2.5-h sessions for pre-health professions students at a local museum in partnership with museum educators. Participants were invited to respond to a follow-up survey asking about their perceived insights from and importance of the session. We used descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis for quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Ten of the participants responded to the survey (n=10/23, response rate=43%) and all supported the integration of such an experience in their pre-health curriculum. The qualitative analysis of responses to the open-ended item about any insights gained from participation in the program revealed three themes: cultivation of the health professional, personal growth, and awareness and appreciation of multiple perspectives. Participants who responded to our survey drew meaningful connections to the relevance of these sessions to their development as future professionals.

Health Care Providers Working Cross-Culturally: Pitfalls, Pearls, and Preparation Resources for Culture Shock.

Health care providers engaging in cross-cultural work will likely experience culture shock, a psychological, behavioral, and physiologic response to new cultural environments that can significantly affect travelers. Culture shock has the potential for both negative and positive outcomes. Well-being, health, and professionalism can be negatively influenced during the peak of culture shock, but the experience may also positively promote transformative learning and professional identity formation. Culture shock has been carefully researched for different types of sojourners, such as undergraduate students and business personnel, but minimally for health care providers. This article defines culture shock, describes different health care-related cross-cultural opportunities, identifies factors contributing to culture shock, describes complexities related to measuring culture shock, depicts common cross-cultural challenges encountered by traveling health care providers, and offers tangible guidance to help prepare for culture shock. We conclude with a call for further research and resource development to support the well-being of an increasingly global health care workforce. [Pediatr Ann. 2023;52(9):e335-e343.].

Pharmacy Students' Perceptions of the Pharmacist Role: An Arts-Informed Approach to Professional Identity Formation.

Elements of professional identity are closely intertwined with professional roles, and individuals perceive themselves in relation to their roles. How pharmacists perceive their professional identity influences how they enact their roles in practice. For pharmacy students, understanding the pharmacist role and envisioning themselves in that role supports the formation of their professional identity. This study explores students' perceptions of the pharmacist role. First-year pharmacy students enrolled in the Doctor of Pharmacy program at the University of Alberta were invited to participate in this study. Using an adapted version of the draw-and-write technique, participants were asked to express their understanding of the pharmacist role visually. An analysis of the results was guided by established discourses related to pharmacist identity derived from pharmacy education literature. In total, 100 pharmacy students participated in this study. The findings indicate that pharmacy students have a comprehensive understanding of the pharmacist role, especially the dispenser and health care provider aspects of a pharmacist's professional identity. Additionally, students acknowledged the involvement of pharmacists in health care teams, in public health, and primary health care services. A discourse related to professional identity, the multi-faceted professional, emerged to describe the coexistence of multiple roles in modern pharmacy practice. An arts-based activity successfully facilitated the exploration of pharmacy students' perceptions of the professional role of pharmacists. This approach has potential in supporting instruction regarding professional identity formation within the curriculum.

Development of hidden curriculum skills in a COVID-19 vaccination centre.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many medical students were deployed as vaccinators. This study set out to capture the lived experience of students at a London-based mass vaccination site, understand what they learned, how this learning compared to their experience of usual medical education and how any identified benefits might be leveraged in a post-pandemic context. Student vaccinators (n = 8) were recruited from the vaccine clinic workforce and invited to complete semi-structured interviews about their experiences. Thematic analysis was conducted on interview transcripts to identify significant concepts, which were interpreted in the context of available literature. Participants' experiences aligned broadly with the undergraduate curriculum. However, many also identified hidden curriculum areas developed through their work as vaccinators, including professionalism, self-regulating learning and ethical decision-making. The need for adequate support, whilst promoting autonomy, was highlighted as vital in supporting professional identity formation within a community of practice, benchmarking clinical knowledge and performance, and in support of student wellbeing, in the face of challenging real-world clinical encounters. Increased entrustment of clinical activity could be implemented in primary and secondary care settings to reproduce the benefits experienced by student vaccinators in front-line roles during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further work might consider how to maximise these benefits and increase inclusion and participation.

How to coach student professional development during times of challenges and uncertainties

BackgroundWhat we teach our (bio)medical students today may differ from the future context under which they will operate as health professionals. This shifting and highly demanding profession requires that we equip these students with adaptive competencies for their future careers. We aimed to develop a framework to promote and facilitate professional development from day one, guided by self-awareness and self-directed learning.ApproachBased on self-directed, transformative and experiential learning, patient involvement and teamwork, we developed a 3-year longitudinal personal-professional development (LPPD) program in the (bio)medical sciences undergraduate curriculum to stimulate self-driven professional development in a variable context. Through group meetings and individual coach consultations, students address topics such as self-awareness, self-directed and lifelong learning, collaboration, well-being and resilience. To drive learning students receive extensive narrative feedback on an essay assignment.EvaluationExperiences and outcomes were evaluated with questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Students and coaches value personal and professional development in a safe learning environment that encourages self-exploration, diversity and connection. Over time, students show more self-awareness and self-directedness and increasingly apply trained skills, resulting in professional identity formation. Students need more clarification to understand the concept of assessment as learning.ImplicationsWith the generic content of a longitudinal program embedded in a meaningful environment, the personal and professional development of students can be facilitated and stimulated to face future challenges. When translating to other curricula, we suggest considering the complexity of professional development and the time expenditure needed for students to explore, experiment and practice. An early start and thorough integration are recommended.

Spirende professionelle

Society's complexity and constant movement place great demands on education programs to train competent, reflexive, robust and committed students who can think, act and act in a qualified and professional manner. In this article, we will examine the students' experience of professional identity formation during practicum. Educating into a profession and developing a professional identity is a transition that contains many complex facets in the form of developing expert knowledge, skills, behavior, attitudes, and professionalism (Wilson et al., 2013). Barnet (2012) describes this transition as a dynamic journey without a specific destination, which is influenced by both the individual's personal characteristics and the professional practice that the individual participates in. The starting point is impact in practice courses on the Social Education and the Medical Education, where social identities is articulated and the formation of professional identity is the focal point (Rothuizen, 2015; Van den Broek et al., 2020; Rothuizen & Togsverd, 2020a). Based on an analysis of field studies and focus group interviews with students, an argument is made for understanding the concept as social identity based on the general picture drawn from the data. The understanding of social identity contains adjustment of the self in relation to the profession and the exercise thereof (action). Knowledge that is essential in the debate about how professions are trained for a complex and changing world.

Professionsidentitet på tværs

In the paper differences and similarities comparing professional identity in educations for Nurse, Teacher and Bachelor of Nutrition and Health are discussed. Professional identity formation is conceptualized as a fluid and socially negotiated process. There are international studies about professional identity for nurses and teachers, but a lack of comparative studies. The empirical material are group interviews with students and educators analyzed by reflexive thematic analysis. Both groups are asked about the collective professional identity and experiences with external understandings (based on pictures), and the students also about their (pre)professional identity. The analyses show that all three are professions working with empathy in human relations. There are however different stereotypes related to the external understanding of the professions. The student teachers have experienced to a high degree to have to defense their educational choice and position themselves in opposition to the traditional picture of transmissive teaching. The educators and student nurses challenge the picture of a “nice girl”. They refer to the present political focus and refer to the identity as challenged. Bachelor of Nutrition and Health is a new and somewhat diffuse profession. Acting on evidence but also with respect for the individual is formulated as a core.

Activating the American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials Through Competency-Based Leadership in Graduate Student Organizations.

As nursing programs across the nation shift toward a competency-based education model, academic institutions are working to quantify student learning outcomes based on the new American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 2021) Essentials, domains, competencies, and sub-competencies. Leveraging AACN Essentials, faculty and graduate nursing students engage in student organizations with the focus of Population Health, Professionalism, and Personal, Professional and Leadership Development (AACN, 2021). Graduate student members are involved in practicum activities throughout the course of their education. Through collaboration with faculty, the student body, and other community partners, student leaders integrate experiences applicable to professional roles outside of academia (AACN, 2021). As a result, students gain skills in leadership and communication, while also gaining confidence and professional identity formation. Other academic institutions may replicate this approach in promoting competency-based education, experiences and development in alignment with the AACN Essentials. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(10):580-583.].