Student Professional Identity Development Research Articles

The ReSearching Identity Podcast Project: Developing a Brief and Inclusive Professional Identity Intervention for Higher Education

ABSTRACT In this study, we present the pilot implementation of the ReSearching Identity Podcast Project, an intervention targeting the professional identity development of students with and without marginalized identities in higher education. The objectives were to assess the intervention’s acceptability and feasibility, particularly focusing on its use of educational podcasting, and to explore preliminary effects on students’ professional identity, including identity centrality and the connectedness with social identities (i.e. cultural and gender identity). We conducted a mixed method pilot study with university students (N = 33; 88% female) in the Netherlands. Students completed online surveys before and after the pilot implementation, and students and their teacher participated in follow-up conversations. The results supported the acceptability and feasibility of the ReSearching Identity Podcast Project, with students and teachers appreciating the brevity of the intervention program, opportunities to learn about marginalized experiences of fellow students and professionals, and embeddedness in the curriculum. Also, students reported higher professional identity centrality and overall high connectedness of professional and other social identities after the intervention. We conclude by addressing the limitations, but also potential of the ReSearching Identity Podcast Project to address professional identity development with all students in higher education.

Exploring Gender Variation in Medical Student Professional Identity Development: A Longitudinal Study Through the Career Eulogy Perspective

Exploring Gender Variation in Medical Student Professional Identity Development: A Longitudinal Study Through the Career Eulogy Perspective

“Pieces of Myself”: The Pedagogical Power of an Illness Narrative Assignment for Doctor of Physical Therapy Students

Purpose: Narrative medicine in healthcare education is used to promote a deeper understanding of the illness experience to promote compassionate, patient-centered care. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore first year physical therapy students’ perceived learning after completing a first-person illness narrative assignment within a required Whole Person Care course prior to clinical experience. Method: Fifty-nine first-year doctor of physical therapy students completed an illness narrative assignment of a known individual with an illness experience from the first-person perspective. Data from students’ reflections on completing the illness narrative assignment were analyzed. Themes organically emerged from the open-ended prompt “What do you feel you learned writing the illness narrative?” Results: Four primary themes of perceived student learning emerged: deeper understanding of oneself, cognizance of values, understanding the illness experience of others, and recognition of future professional role. Three of these primary themes correlate with constructs of professional identity formation. Results substantiate previous studies advocating the use of narrative medicine to facilitate patient-centered care and professional identity development in healthcare education. Conclusions: A single illness narrative assignment with reflection created deeper understanding of the human illness experience for patient-centered care and supported physical therapy student professional identity development prior to clinical experience. This study adds to the limited research on effectiveness of narrative in physical therapy curricula. It also informs educators of a pedagogical approach early in curricula to leverage student professional identity formation. The study additionally answers the recommendations for research on effective implementation of humanities, early integration of narrative pedagogy, and the creation of learning spaces to support student professional identity formation.

Observation, practice, and purpose: Recalibrating curriculum to enhance professional development

AbstractThis article describes the development and assessment of teaching strategies to enhance student professional identity development by shifting the pedagogical focus from content knowledge to the practice of interpersonal and conflict resolution skills, and reflection to create awareness, observe growth, and find meaning.

The Role for Simulation in Professional Identity Formation in Medical Students.

Authentic clinical experiences and reflection are critical for medical student professional identity formation (PIF). Individualized learning plans and competency-based education accelerate time to graduation, thus creating more demand for students to gain PIF experiences early in medical education. This pilot study investigated student professional identity experiences related to participation in a clinical simulation during the first week of medical school. All first-year medical students at an academic health center participated in a clinically relevant simulation-based orientation to medical school (SOMS). Participants completed evaluation surveys measuring PIF-related experiences during the SOMS. All participants completed the survey (N = 186). Students agreed that the SOMS helped them feel what it is like to be a doctor (90%) and transition to the role of student-physician (91%). Student comments about the SOMS-reflected PIF-related processes, such as building a sense of a community of practice among their peers in their roles as a healthcare team. Students also valued the opportunity to engage in reflection about their roles as student-physicians. Simulation experiences can be used as a trigger for self-reflection to assist in medical student professional identity development as early as the first weeks of medical school. Simulation exercises may improve PIF and could further enhance medical student PIF by adding them longitudinally into the curriculum.

The Co-Created Classroom: Enhancing Students’ Professional Identity through a Teaching Apprentice Assignment

Professional identity development of students is an often discussed but never resolved issue in higher education. To facilitate a shift toward developing students’ professional identity, we propose a pedagogical model where students are tasked with developing and providing instruction to their classmates during a 75-minute teaching session. Students work collaboratively with the instructor to design and implement class sessions, enhancing involvement and engagement with the material. Through the assignment, students receive extensive coaching, are empowered to make decisions, and collect peer feedback from their classmates. In this article, we offer anecdotal evidence which suggests that the inclusion of a co-created classroom assignment in college courses may support students’ professional identity development while deepening all students’ understanding of course content.

Identity in lockdown: supporting primary care professional identity development in the COVID-19 generation

ABSTRACT The current COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted undergraduate medical studies. Whilst challenges for knowledge and clinical skills are being actively addressed, wider considerations such as the impact on professional identity development have been mostly neglected thus far. A robust professional identity is linked to professional behaviour and has been shown to reduce burnout and be an important factor for general practice career choice amongst medical students. The Communities of Practice Model is a sociocultural approach that conceptualises the formation of professional identity through student engagement within a community. We argue the current suspension of clinical placements holds the potential to negatively influence such identity acquisition. In this commentary we explore how the Communities of Practice Model may inform professional identity development of medical students within the COVID-19 environment, considering digital communities and volunteering roles within primary care. We further encourage educators and institutions to consider professional identity in future planning to address the challenges posed by the current situation, both in terms of placement loss but also changes in the way primary care is delivered. Such considerations will be essential if we are to avoid problems relating to poor medical student professional identity development in future.

Validation of a motivation survey tool for pharmacy students: Exploring a link to professional identity development

IntroductionSelf-determination theory (SDT), which describes a continuum of motivation regulators, is proposed as an appropriate framework to study pharmacy student motivation. The aim was to develop a Pharmacy Motivation Scale (Pharm-S) to determine motivation regulators in undergraduate students and explore a possible link to professional identity development. MethodsThe Pharm-S was adapted from the SDT-based, Sports Motivation Scale (SMS-II), and administered to undergraduate students in an Australian pharmacy course. Convergent validity was assessed by conducting a correlation analysis between the Pharm-S and MacLeod Clark Professional Identity Scale (MCPIS-9). ResultsFace, content and construct validity were established for the Pharm-S through the analysis of 327 survey responses. Factor analysis extracted four of the six theoretical subscales as proposed by SDT (variance explained: 65.7%). Support for the SDT structure was confirmed by high factor loadings in each of the subscales and acceptable reliability coefficients. Subscale correlations revealed a simplex pattern, supporting the presence of a motivation continuum, as described by SDT. A moderate positive correlation (0.64) between Pharm-S responses and the validated professional identity instrument, MCPIS-9, indicated a possible link between levels of motivation and professional identity. Discussionand conclusions: Content and structural validity and internal consistency of the Pharm-S confirmed the reliability of the Pharm-S as a valid tool to assess motivational regulators. Pharm-S and the MCPIS-9 were positively correlated, lending support to a link between motivation and professional identity. This suggests a potential role for the Pharm-S as a valid tool to measure pharmacy student professional identity development.

Am I a STEM professional? Documenting STEM student professional identity development

Post-secondary education is expected to substantially contribute to the cognitive growth and professional achievement of students studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Yet, there is limited understanding of how students studying STEM develop a professional identity. We used the lens of self-authorship to develop a model for STEM student professional identity development. We applied the model to frame our assessment of the relationship between the level of STEM students’ perceptions of their professional identities and their educational experiences, learning preferences, and comfort with faculty interactions. We found a misalignment between students’ perception of themselves as professionals and the expectations for their actions in professional situations. We also found that students engaged in learning activities similar to the activities of STEM professionals communicated higher levels of professional identity development. We provide implications for our research and directions for ongoing investigations.

The Influence of the Metaparadigm of Nursing on Professional Identity Development Among RN-BSN Students

This paper is a report of an interview about the metaparadigm of nursing and the influence of the metaparadigm on the professional identity development of students enrolled in an online RN-BSN program.

Towards a Theory of Doctoral Student Professional Identity Development: A Developmental Networks Approach

Towards a Theory of Doctoral Student Professional Identity Development: A Developmental Networks Approach

Towards a Theory of Doctoral Student Professional Identity Development: A Developmental Networks Approach

(2009). Towards a Theory of Doctoral Student Professional Identity Development: A Developmental Networks Approach. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 80, No. 1, pp. 1-33.

Identity Changes during the Transition from Student to Professor

Previous articleNext article No AccessIdentity Changes during the Transition from Student to ProfessorDouglas T. HallDouglas T. Hall Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Volume 76, Number 4Dec., 1968 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/442856 Views: 9Total views on this site Citations: 12Citations are reported from Crossref Journal History This article was published in The School Review (1893-1979), which is continued by the American Journal of Education (1979-present). Copyright 1968 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Patric Raemy A Theory of Professional Identity in Journalism: Connecting Discursive Institutionalism, Socialization, and Psychological Resilience Theory, Communication Theory 31, no.44 (Sep 2020): 841–861.https://doi.org/10.1093/ct/qtaa019Pui Yuen Lee, Kung Wong Lau From an “idea generator” to a “solution facilitator”, Career Development International 24, no.11 (Feb 2019): 2–17.https://doi.org/10.1108/CDI-03-2018-0080Helen Hasan and Henry Linger, Gunjan Tomer, Sushanta Kumar Mishra Professional identity construction among software engineering students, Information Technology & People 29, no.11 (Mar 2016): 146–172.https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-10-2013-0181Vicki L. Baker, Meghan J. Pifer The role of relationships in the transition from doctoral student to independent scholar, Studies in Continuing Education 33, no.11 (Mar 2011): 5–17.https://doi.org/10.1080/0158037X.2010.515569Vicki (Baker) Sweitzer Towards a Theory of Doctoral Student Professional Identity Development: A Developmental Networks Approach, The Journal of Higher Education 80, no.11 (Oct 2016): 1–33.https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2009.11772128Michael G. Pratt, Kevin W. Rockmann, Jeffrey B. Kaufmann Constructing Professional Identity: The Role of Work and Identity Learning Cycles in the Customization of Identity Among Medical Residents, Academy of Management Journal 49, no.22 (Apr 2006): 235–262.https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.20786060MARIAN C. SPEARS, PATRICIA L. SIMONIS, ALIENE G. VADEN Professional attitudes of dietetics students and practitioners, Journal of the American Dietetic Association 92, no.1212 (Dec 1992): 1522–1526.https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-8223(21)00943-3Aharon Tziner CHOICE AND COMMITMENT TO A MILITARY CAREER, Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal 11, no.11 (Jan 1983): 119–128.https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.1983.11.1.119Mitsuru Wakabayashi, Takao Minami, Masuo Hashimoto, Katsuo Sano, George Graen, Michael Novak Managerial career development: Japanese style, International Journal of Intercultural Relations 4, no.3-43-4 (Jan 1980): 391–420.https://doi.org/10.1016/0147-1767(80)90013-9James L. Bess Anticipatory socialization of graduate students, Research in Higher Education 8, no.44 (Jan 1978): 289–317.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00976801 Bibliography, AAHE-ERIC/Higher Education Research Report 5, no.77 (Jun 2009): 39–45.https://doi.org/10.1002/aehe.3640050710Douglas T. Hall A theoretical model of career subidentity development in organizational settings, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 6, no.11 (Jan 1971): 50–76.https://doi.org/10.1016/0030-5073(71)90005-5