Authors
1 Unit of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Taylor’s University, Malaysia
2 Unit of Public Health, School of Medicine, Taylor’s University, Malaysia
Abstract
Professional identity formation (PIF) refers to the possession and exhibition of the conduct of a medical
professional. It’s an external representation of a medical personnel’s feelings, beliefs, experiences,
and values that influence the provision of holistic patient care. Apart from training medical students
to be competent and skilled physicians, one of the goals of today’s medical education must be to
encourage them to achieve professional identity formation. Many medical schools across the globe
have made this explicit during the clinical years of study, but we believe that professional identity
formation starts as early as day one of medical school. So, for educators, apart from delivering
basic science subject content during early years of study, the creation of learning opportunities
and pedagogic space in the curriculum to enhance competencies of PIF becomes mandatory. This
competency‑based educational approach will help medical students transform and reconsider their
own values and beliefs by relating to the behaviors that are expected by the profession, colleagues, and
patients when they graduate as medical doctors. In this paper, we discuss how a competency‑based
curriculum should provide opportunities for students to interact and communicate effectively with
patients and colleagues, to self‑reflect on their own personal identity before creating a professional
identity that is unique to the profession, to make the right judgment and confidently practice medicine
in a business‑based healthcare system.
Keywords
Essers GT, Numans ME, Kramer AW. A practical framework
for remediating unprofessional behavior and for developing
professionalism competencies and a professional identity. Med
Teach 2019;41:303‑8.
2. Forouzadeh M, Kiani M, Bazmi S. Professionalism and its role
in the formation of medical professional identity. Med J Islam
Repub Iran 2018;32:765‑8.
3. Goldberg JL. Humanism or professionalism? The white coat
ceremony and medical education. Acad Med 2008;83:715‑22.
4. Chin D, Phillips Y, Woo MT, Clemans A, Yeong PK. Key
components that contribute to professional identity development
in internships for Singapore’s tertiary institutions: A systematic
review. Asian J Scholarsh Teach Learn 2020;10:89‑113.
5. Cruess RL, Cruess SR, Boudreau JD, Snell L, Steinert Y. Reframing
medical education to support the development of a professional
identity. Acad Med 2014;89:1446‑51.
6. Hodges BD, Ginsburg S, CruessR, Cruess S, Delport R, Hafferty F,
et al. Assessment of professionalism: Recommendations from the
Ottawa 2010 Conference. Med Teach 2011;33:354‑63.
7. Jarvis‑Selinger S, Pratt DD, Regehr G. Competency is not enough:
Integrating identity formation into the medical education
discourse. Acad Med 2012;87:1185‑90.
8. Monrouxe LV. Theoretical insights into the nature and nurture
of professional identities. In: Cruess RL, Cruess SR, Steinert Y,editors. Teaching Medical Professionalism: Supporting the
Development of a Professional Identity. 2nd ed. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press; 2016. p. 37‑53.
9. Chandran L, Iuli RJ, Strano‑Paul L, Post SG. Developing “a Way of
Being”: Deliberate approaches to professional identity formation
in medical education. Acad Psychiatry 2019;43:521‑7.
10. Kirk LM. Professionalism in medicine: Definitions and
considerations for teaching. Proceedings (Baylor University.
Medical Center) 2007;20:13‑6.
11. Monrouxe L. Identity, identification, and medical education: Why
should we care? Med Educ 2009;44:40‑9.
12. Matthews J, Bialocerkowski A, Molineux M. Professional
identity measures for student health professionals – A
systematic review of psychometric properties. BMC Med Educ
2019;19:308.
13. Benbassat J, Baumal R. Enhancing self‑awareness in medical
students: An overview of teaching approaches. Acad Med
2005;80:56‑61.
14. Gorlin R, Zucker HD. Physicians’ reactions to patients. A key to
teaching humanistic medicine. N Engl J Med 1983;308:1059‑63.
15. Balint M. The Doctor, his Patient, and the Illness. Madison:
International University Press; 1964.
16. Jason H, Kagan N, Werner A, Elstein AS, Thomas JB. New
approaches to teaching basic interview skills to medical students.
Am J Psychiatry 1971;127:1404‑7.
17. Gordon MJ. Self‑assessment programs and their implications for
health professions training. Acad Med 1992;67:672‑9.
18. IqbalMP, VelanG, O’SullivanAJ, OlupeliyawaAM, Balasooryia C.
Developing the competency of ‘collaborative clinical practice’.
MedEdPublish 2019;8:12.
19. Picton A. Work‑life balance in medical students: Self‑care in a
culture of self‑sacrifice. BMC Med Educ 2021;21(Suppl 8):8.
20. Batt‑Rawden SA, Chisolm MS, Anton B, Flickinger TE. Teaching
empathy to medical students: An updated, systematic review.
Acad Med 2013;88:1171‑7.
21. Elliot MH. The role of empathy in medicine: A medical student’s
perspective. Virtual Mentor 2007;9:423‑7.
22. Levinson W, Ginsburg S, Hafferty FW, Lucey CR. Integrity and
Accountability. Understanding Medical Professionalism. 1st ed.
New York (NY): McGraw‑Hill Education LLC; 2014.
23. Cruess SR, Cruess RL. Professionalism and medicine’s social
contract with society. Virtual Mentor 2004;6:185‑8.
24. Younis J, Gishen F. Practical tips for teaching academic integrity
in the digital age. MedEdPublish 2019;8:72.
25. Beach MC, Duggan PS, Cassel CK, Geller G. What does ‘respect’
mean? Exploring the moral obligation of health professionals to
respect patients. J Gen Intern Med 2007;22:692‑5.
26. Kiziela A, Viliūnienė R, Friborg O, Navickas A. Distress and
resilience associated with workload of medical students. J Ment
Health 2019;28:319‑23.
27. Dunn LB, Iglewicz A, Moutier C. A conceptual model of medical
student well‑being: Promoting resilience and preventing burnout.
Acad Psychiatry 2008;32:44‑53.
28. Bird A, Tomescu O, Oyola S, Houpy J, Anderson I, Pincavage A.
A curriculum to teach resilience skills to medical students during
clinical training. MedEdPORTAL 2020;16:10975.
29. Kinsinger FS. Beneficence and the professional’s moral imperative.
J Chiropr Humanit 2009;16:44‑6.
30. Jagsi R, Lehmann LS. The ethics of medical education. BMJ
2004;329:332‑4.
31. Varkey B. Principles of clinical ethics and their application to
practice. Med Princ Pract 2021;30:17‑28.
32. Epstein RM. Mindful practice: A key to patient safety. Focus
Patient Saf 2011;14:3‑7.
33. Krasner MS, Epstein RM, Beckman H, Suchman AL, Chapman B,
Mooney CJ, et al. Association of an educational program in
mindful communication with burnout, empathy, and attitudes
among primary care physicians. JAMA 2009;302:1284‑93.
)