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Medical Students' Creation of Original Poetry, Comics, and Masks to Explore Professional Identity Formation
Johanna Shapiro1, Juliet McMullin2, Gabriella Miotto3
1Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, UC Irvine Medical Center, University of California Irvine, rte 81, bldg. 200, rm 835, 101 City Dr. South, Orange, CA, 92868, USA. jfshapir@hs.uci.edu.
Introduction:
This study examines differences in students' perceived value of three artmaking modalities (poetry, comics, masks) and whether the resulting creative projects offer similar or different insights into medical students' professional identity formation.
Methods:
Mixed-methods design using a student survey, student narrative comments and qualitative analysis of students' original work.
Results:
Poetry and comics stimulated insight, but masks were more enjoyable and stress-reducing. All three art modalities expressed tension between personal and professional identities.
Discussion:
Regardless of type of artmaking, students express concern about encroachments of training on personal identity but hoped that personal and professional selves could be integrated.
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