From Professionalism to

Identity Formation

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 Session Goals
1. To discuss personal and
professional identities
formation.
2. Identify the importance of
professional identity formation
in a profession
3. Recognize the students roles
in terms of professional
identity formation

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Identity: Who Am I?

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 IDENTITY
“A set of characteristics or a description that distinguishes a
person or things from others.”

It involves the internationalization of expectations and

behaviors that arise from a role or distinct network of
relationships

Oxford English Dictionary

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What is your personal identity?

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 Multiple Identities

Individual
Identity Relational
Identities

Collective
identity

• Roccas, S. & Brewer M. B. Personality & Soc Psych Rev, 6, 88 – 106, 2002.
• Monrouxe LV. Identity, identification and medical education: why should we care?
Med Educ. 44(1):40-9, 2010. of California San Francisco Medical School
© University
 What is Professional Identity
formation?

A representation of self, achieved in stages over time during

which the characteristics, values, and norms of the medical
profession are internalized, resulting in an individual thinking,
acting and feeling like a physician.

Cruess, Cruess, Boudreau, Snell & Steinert, 2014

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MULTIPLE FACTORS

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BUT REMEMBER…

• Identity is complex
• Individuals have several identities – personal and
professional
• Identities can change Identities represent who we
are at any one point in time

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 Compartmentalized Identity

“When I’m teaching in

class, this is a separate
Educator thing, because I have to
be in a lecture room with
students. But when I’m
doing clinical teaching,
I’ll be in the ward, so I’ll
Physician be providing medical
/Scientist care.”

O'Sullivan et al. Identity Formation and Motivation of New Faculty Developers. Med
Teach. Online Feb 6, 2016. of California San Francisco Medical School
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 Merged Identity

“I think physician and

medical educator are
probably 50/50 –
Physician Educator overlap, integrative,
whatever we’re
doing. And it’s hard
to separate out the
Scientist physician from the
scientist”

O'Sullivan, Irby. Identity Formation of

Occasional Faculty Developers in Medical
Education.
© University of California Acad
San Francisco MedicalMed
School89, 1467-73, 2014.
Construct your Venn diagram
from your introduction

Clinician Leader Clinician

Educator Teache
r

Researcher

Teacher/
Faculty
Educator Clinician Developer
Mentor

Leade
Researcher
r Researcher

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 Importance of professional
identity
Identity helps us to:
• Explain ourselves
• Present ourselves
• Conduct ourselves
• Identify the scope and nature of our work
• Define what’s important
• Organize our time

It also contributes to the overall development and advancement of the

profession itself by ensuring that professionals are committed to the
highest standards of practice and ethical conduct.

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 Roles of a student in professional
identity formation
• Self reflection and feedback
• Active participation
• Pursuing internships and develop networking
• Demonstrate the emotional stability
• Work and life balance
• Critical thinking
• Effective communication skills
• Avoid toxic workplace behaviors
• Stay organized not only in your schedule but also in
the workspace and tasks
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Background

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 Concluding Thought

A strong professional identity enables

individuals to practice with confidence and
with a professional demeanour, thereby
giving others confidence in their abilities.

Monrouxe 2010

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