Capturing Reflections for Personal and Professional Development in Medical Education: A Mixed Methods Study

To prepare medical students for their future role in addressing complex health problems, medical education should pay attention to students' Personal and Professional Development (PPD). Meaningful reflection plays an essential role in such education. We aimed to explore how to facilitate PPD-related reflection, collation and periodic retrospection by medical students.

We performed an intervention study with fourth-year medical students at the University Medical Centre Utrecht in 2024. The interventions consisted of workshops and individual assignments addressing PPD with three different formats for reflection (note to self, core value or representative item), collection (online or analogue), and retrospection (compilation, value mapping or self-scoring). These were analyzed using a convergent mixed methods design with data from Likert scales and open questions in a survey, focus groups, and analysis of the submitted reflection materials.

Thirty-four students completed the intervention (participation rate 100%), 33 students completed the survey (response rate 97%). The format of making a note to oneself using text/video/audio/image was experienced as the most suitable form of reflection. An online medium was preferred for the collection of reflections, but ease-of-use and an overview display option of the collected materials were deemed crucial requirements. Students experienced the retrospection systems as useful, fun, and actionable and most appreciated the opportunity to trace their personal development.

Students found the reflection, collation, and retrospection methods useful and desirable. Most important for the future design of education is the freedom to choose and adapt, as well as a balance in time investment and perceived added value. Further research should focus on development of a suitable online medium and test this in a longitudinal setting to address retrospection suitability.