Belonging in dual roles: exploring professional identity formation among disabled healthcare students and clinicians

The development of a robust professional identity is a pivotal aspect of every healthcare professional's educational journey. Critical social perspectives are increasingly influencing the examination of professional identity formation within healthcare professions. While understanding how disabled students and practitioners integrate a disability identity into their professional identity is crucial, we have limited knowledge about the actual formation of their professional identity. This study aims to investigate how disabled students and clinicians in healthcare professions actively shape their professional identity during their educational and professional journeys. We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 27 students and 29 clinicians, conducting up to three interviews per participant over a year, resulting in 124 interviews. Participants represented five healthcare professions: medicine, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and social work. Employing a constructivist grounded theory approach, our data analysis revealed two prominent dimensions: (a) The contextualization of identity formation processes and (b) The identity navigation dimension in which the professional identity and disability identity are explored. This emerging model sheds light on the dynamic processes involved in identity formation, emphasizing the significance of a supportive environment for disabled students and practitioners. Such an environment fosters the negotiation of both professional and disability identities. Moreover, this study recognizes the importance of a re-examination of the concepts of professionalism and professional identity in healthcare professions. In conclusion, this research underscores the importance of understanding and supporting the multifaceted identity formation processes among disabled individuals within healthcare professions.