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Published on: September 4, 2019
Initial testing of an instrument to measure teacher identity in physicians
Susan Starr1, Heather-Lyn Haley, Kathleen M Mazor
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, 01655, USA. StarrS@UMMHC.org
Background:
A previous study described 7 elements of teacher identity: intrinsic satisfaction from teaching, knowledge and skill about teaching, belonging to a community of teachers, receiving rewards for teaching, believing that being a doctor means being a teacher, feeling a responsibility to teach, and sharing clinical expertise.
Purpose:
To conduct the initial testing of an instrument to measure the 7 elements of teacher identity in clinical educators and to consider the potential applications of such an instrument.
Methods:
A 37-item questionnaire was mailed to 153 preceptors of preclinical students. Categories reflected the elements of teacher identity listed here. Demographic data were collected. Means, alphas, ANOVAs, and paired t tests were calculated.
Results:
Of 153 preceptors, 127 (83%) completed the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha for the overall scale and several subscales were high. Salaried physicians and those who had completed a faculty development program scored significantly higher on several subscales than physicians who volunteered to teach or who did not have faculty development.
Conclusions:
This study provides preliminary evidence that teacher identity can be measured and that preceptors do not respond as a homogeneous group. Assessing teacher identity may be helpful to medical schools looking to identify and support physicians who teach.
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