Reframing learning interactions: transforming professional identity among students of traditional Korean medicine

Understanding the construction of professional identities is a key challenge in medical education. Advancing a global understanding of medical professionalism requires the recognition of the general principles and sociocultural particularities that shape professional identities across diverse medical traditions. We investigated how students of traditional Korean medicine develop a professional identity through transformative learning within a specific sociocultural context. The research questions are as follows: (1) How does the professional identity of students of traditional Korean medicine develop? (2) In the context of professional identity formation, how do students of traditional Korean medicine construct meaning from their cognitive (content dimension of learning), affective (incentive dimension of learning), and social (interaction dimension of learning) learning experiences?

We applied grounded theory to explore how students of traditional Korean medicine construct professional identities through various learning experiences. Twenty-one fourth-year students of traditional Korean medicine participated in in-depth interviews, followed by initial, focused, and theoretical coding.

In the incentive dimension, students of traditional Korean medicine experienced resistance, adaptation, dissatisfaction resolution, anxiety, conflict, or reproduction. In the content dimension, they developed expertise through a formal curriculum based on unfamiliar East Asian philosophy that included classical texts and Chinese characters. Clinical practice and volunteer work helped them deepen their understanding of traditional Korean medicine and build confidence. In the interaction dimension, they encountered a closed and individualistic school culture, had patient interactions through volunteering, interacted with role models, and confronted negative perceptions of doctors of traditional Korean medicine in online communities. The most significant finding was that the interaction dimension was divided into internal and external interactions based on learners' interpretations and meaning-making perspectives. The findings show that professional identity can only be fully formed when both types of interactions are experienced.

The insights gained from traditional Korean medical education have valuable implications for global medical education. By revealing the general principles and culturally specific dynamics of professional identity formation, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how identity is shaped within pluralistic medical education environments, in which diverse medical paradigms, learning experiences, and cultural values intersect.

Not applicable.