Professional identity of medical students: Proposing a Meta Static Structural Model

The realization of professionalism and its desirable consequences, as the most important goal of medical education, primarily depends on identifying the process and mechanism of the professional identity formation, which in turn requires the accurate identification of components and structure of the concept of professional identity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to synthesize a static structural model for professional identity, based on the results of our previous research.

In this study the theory or model construction methodology was used to synthesize a static structural model of professional identity formation for medical students. In this regard, the Walker and Avant method was followed through three steps: specifying focal concepts, reviewing the literature, and organizing concepts into an integrated and efficient representation.

In this study, based on the analysis of 9 selected conceptual models in the field of socialization and professional identity, first the key concepts of each model were extracted and then by carefully examining these concepts and determining their relationships and reviewing related texts, dimensions and components of professional identity were determined and presented in the form of a comprehensive structural static model.

The advantage of the proposed model over the existing models is the explicit presentation of the dimensions, constructs, and sub-constructs of the concept of professional identity. In addition, this model can be used as a general pattern in all non-medical professions.