Developing health science students into integrated health professionals: a practical tool for learning

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Professionalism in Healthcare

Background:

• Professionalism is crucial for health professionals, requiring integrated knowledge, ethical principles, and adaptability.
• Health professional education aims to instill professionalism, with early undergraduate courses laying this foundation.
• A diagrammatic framework is utilized in courses to guide students toward an integrated professional identity, focusing on 'self as professional' domains.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the use of a diagrammatic representation of an integrated health professional's core elements.
• To illustrate how this diagram serves as a template for course content and student learning organization.
• To present the diagram as a visual tool for exploring professionalism's subjective and objective dimensions.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a diagram depicting domains of the integrated health professional.
• Focusing small group experiential exercises on appreciating professionalism.
• Employing the diagram as an organizing framework for conceptualizing professional identity and directing learning.

Main Results:

• The diagram has been applied for six years with positive impact.
• Students and educators report the diagram is intuitive and effective.
• Preliminary informal feedback highlights its value in capturing professionalism domains early.

Conclusions:

• The diagrammatic tool effectively supports the development of professionalism in early undergraduate health professional education.
• The visual framework aids in understanding and integrating the multifaceted aspects of professional identity.
• Further formal evaluation is planned to substantiate the diagram's impact.