Faculty role expectation: perception discrepancies and departmental affiliation

A questionnaire was developed to assess medical students and faculty with respect to several dimensions of their role expectations and perceived role enactments with each other. For faculty respondents the nine dimensions which emerged from cluster analysis of expectation-perception discrepancy scores were: Psychosocial Emphases, Ideal Student Role Enactment, Low Versus High Excellence, Faculty Considerateness to Patients, Division of Influence, Participation, Faculty Socioemotional Role Enactment, Student Appreciation, and Student Initiative. A comparison of mean scores on each of these dimensions for faculty members from five departments in one medical school revealed significant differences on six dimensions. Some implications of the findings are discussed.