An Insight into Professional Identity Formation: Qualitative Analyses of Two Reflection Interventions During the Dissection Course

Abstract

The professional behavior of future doctors is increasingly important in medical education. One of the first subjects in the curriculum to address this issue is gross anatomy. The Tuebingen Medical Faculty implemented a learning portfolio and a seminar on medical professionalism during the dissection course. The aims of this research project are to get an overview of how students form a professional identity in the dissection course and to compare the content of both their oral and written reflections on the course. A qualitative analysis was conducted of the oral and written reflections on the dissection laboratory experience. This study was conducted during winter term 2013/2014 with a cohort of 163 participants in the regular dissection course. Written reflection texts (from n = 96 students) and audio recordings from four oral reflection seminar discussions (with n = 11 students) were transcribed and deductively categorized with Mayring's qualitative content analysis method. Both qualitative analyses show that students reflected on many topics relevant to professional development, including empathy, respect, altruism, compassion, teamwork, and self-regulation. Quantitative analysis reveals that students who attended the oral reflection wrote significantly more in their written reflection than students who did not. There is, however, no difference in the reflection categories. Reflection content from students corresponds with categories derived from existing competency frameworks. Both the seminar (oral reflections) and the learning portfolio (written reflections) present excellent opportunities to foster professional development during anatomy education; the key is using them in conjunction with the dissection course. Anat Sci Educ 13: 317-329.

A Scoping Review of Professional Identity Formation in Undergraduate Medical Education

“…While successful formation of a professional identity has been linked to career success, a mismatch between a person's internal bearings and professional roles and expectations can create anxiety, frustration, and feelings of inadequacy, sometimes leading the individual to leave the profession 109,110 . • Build confidence with application of communication, counselling and clinical reasoning skills to contribute to the care of their patients 73,103,122 • Symbolic socialization events such as White Coat Ceremony or Honor Code 62,67,69,118,123 • Direct and repeat opportunities to interact with patients 62,67,69,118,123 • Meaningful professional relationships with multidisciplinary healthcare teams • Disconnect between theoretical knowledge and application in clinical practice 97,98 • Heavy academic demands and competing responsibilities 82,106,107,130 • Tensions between personal values and broader professional identity instigated by challenging encounters 4,7,65,81…”

Everybody is able to reflect, or aren't they? Evaluating the development of medical professionalism via a longitudinal portfolio mentoring program from a student perspective

“…They can help identify and work through individual problems, especially for students who show resistance toward the program. Continuous education and guidance, content, and methodological flexibility in combination with reflective writing, self-assessment tools, group discussions, and mentor led conversations can also significantly stimulate student motivation and deepen reflection [ 16 ], [ 41 ], [ 42 ].…”

“…That is why professional reflection should already be promoted at the beginning of a medical degree with instructions, support, and feedback [ 14 ], [ 15 ]. In the traditionally science-oriented German medical curricula, reflection as a key competence has thus far been addressed implicitly, whereas it has been addressed explicitly in target projects in various (pre) clinical courses [ 16 ], [ 17 ]. Since 2015, the German national competence-based learning objectives catalogue in medicine [ http://www.nklm.de ] has demanded professional self-reflection to be systematically integrated into medical curricula as an essential competence of the medical field.…”

Lacunae regarding dearth of dissection-based teaching during COVID-19 pandemic: how to cope with it?

“…They often include reflective exercises which encourages students to delve deep into their own performance and come up with remedial measures if any or suggestions critical towards further improvement of the whole process. This aspect also promotes skills pertaining to professionalism whereby students adapt themselves to receiving feedback at different levels of their medical career and indulging in reflective exercises based on feedback received thus walking the mile towards self-improvement [8,24].…”