Family physicians’ professional identity formation: a study protocol to explore impression management processes in institutional academic contexts

Abstract

BackgroundDespite significant differences in terms of medical training and health care context, the phenomenon of medical students’ declining interest in family medicine has been well documented in North America and in many other developed countries as well. As part of a research program on family physicians’ professional identity formation initiated in 2007, the purpose of the present investigation is to examine in-depth how family physicians construct their professional image in academic contexts; in other words, this study will allow us to identify and understand the processes whereby family physicians with an academic appointment seek to control the ideas others form about them as a professional group, i.e. impression management.Methods/DesignThe methodology consists of a multiple case study embedded in the perspective of institutional theory. Four international cases from Canada, France, Ireland and Spain will be conducted; the "case" is the medical school. Four levels of analysis will be considered: individual family physicians, interpersonal relationships, family physician professional group, and organization (medical school). Individual interviews and focus groups with academic family physicians will constitute the main technique for data generation, which will be complemented with a variety of documentary sources. Discourse techniques, more particularly rhetorical analysis, will be used to analyze the data gathered. Within- and cross-case analysis will then be performed.DiscussionThis empirical study is strongly grounded in theory and will contribute to the scant body of literature on family physicians’ professional identity formation processes in medical schools. Findings will potentially have important implications for the practice of family medicine, medical education and health and educational policies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1472-6920-14-184) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Improving case study research in medical education: a systematised review

“…Among the 72 articles included in the review (see Appendix S1, online, for a full list), 10 papers reported findings from four overarching studies. These included three papers by Rodr ıguez et al, [15][16][17] one paper by L opez-Roig et al, 18 two papers by Van Hoof et al, 19,20 one paper by Maggio 21 and one by Maggio et al, 22 and two papers by Preston et al 23,24 The articles reviewed utilised a CSR approach for a diverse range of topics (Appendix S1).…”

Imagem do esteticista sob a ótica dos stakeholders

“…Imagens constituem instrumentos utilizados pelo homem, sendo o elemento cognitivo básico do pensamento capaz de influenciar e direcionar o pensamento (DE TONI;SCHULER, 2007;DE TONI, 2008). A partir das imagens, é possível determinar quais informações receberão mais atenção ou não, e como as pessoas expressam o modo como veem ou representam um objeto (RODRÍGUEZ et al, 2014).…”

Governing for Excellence in the Social Care Sector - The Role of Self-Governance in Ireland's Evolving Social Care Profession

“…Professional identity is viewed as an ongoing process that first encompasses the 'sense of self', created through social interactions with others, including other professionals and service users (Rodríguez et al 2014). These interactions shape our identity and make us behave in a way that is considered acceptable by our peers and others.…”