Clinical Teachers' Perceptions of Their Role in Professional Identity Formation

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Professional Identity Formation
• Qualitative Research

Background:

• Learner professional identity formation is a core medical education goal.
• Learners value clinical teachers' role in identity development.
• The perspective of clinical teachers on this process was previously unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore clinical teachers' perceptions of their influence on learners' professional identity formation.
• To understand how clinical teachers view their role in shaping future physicians.

Main Methods:

• 16 semistructured interviews with clinical teachers across 8 specialties at McGill University.
• Qualitative description methodology with inductive and deductive coding.
• Cross-case analysis to identify salient themes.

Main Results:

• Clinical teachers integrated personal and professional identities, with patient care central to the latter.
• Key influence strategies identified: explicit role modeling, difficult conversations, and graded autonomy.
• Teachers found it challenging to articulate the extent of their influence on learners.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first exploration of professional identity formation from the clinical teacher's viewpoint.
• Reflective practice and explicit guidance can help clinical teachers understand and enhance their impact.
• Leveraging clinical teachers' own learning experiences can inform their mentorship.