Exploring Dentists' Views on Professionalism and Identity Formation: A Template Analysis Study

Professionalism is essential in dental education, yet limited research has examined the barriers and challenges dentists face and how these affect their professional identity. This study addressed this gap by exploring dentists' perceptions of professionalism, identifying workplace challenges, analyzing contributors to their professional identity development, and gathering recommendations to enhance professionalism education within dental education.

A purposive sample of practicing dentists was recruited in the Metro Vancouver area of Canada. Semi-structured interviews were conducted using a piloted interview guide. These interviews, held via Zoom, were analyzed using template analysis in NVivo (version 14) by QSR International.

Ten dentists participated in the study. They identified patient-centered care, effective communication, adherence to ethical standards, and maintaining boundaries as key aspects of professionalism. While work experience reinforced professional identity, findings suggest a possible disconnect between professional identity formation and ethical behavior, emphasizing the need for deliberate and guided self-reflection. Participants also reported insufficient training in ethics and interprofessional collaboration, highlighting gaps between their understanding of professionalism and the education they received. They recommended improved professionalism training, stricter institutional oversight, and better workplace dynamics to support ethical decision-making.

This study emphasizes the need for a strategic approach to foster professionalism in dental education, including enhanced professionalism training, promoting professional behavior in dental practice, and potentially revising licensing and oversight frameworks. Future research could examine broader contextual effects, such as regional or cultural influence on professional identity, to develop a more holistic understanding of professionalism in dentistry. These insights can inform dental educators in refining curricula to ensure that dentists provide patient care that adheres to the highest ethical and caring standards.Knowledge Transfer Statement:This study explores how practicing dentists in Canada understand professionalism and form their professional identities, revealing gaps in ethics training, interprofessional collaboration, and workplace support. It highlights a gap in improved professionalism education and institutional oversight. Dental educators, regulators, and policymakers can use these insights to revise dental curricula, ensuring that future dentists are better equipped to navigate ethical challenges and deliver patient-centered care grounded in strong professional values.