Introduction: Professional identity encompasses how individuals understand themselves, interpret experiences, present themselves, wish to be perceived, and are recognized by the broader professional community. For health professional and health science educators, their 'academic' professional identity is situated within their academic community and plays an integral role in their well being and productivity. This study aims to explore factors that contribute to the formation and growth of academic identity (AI) within the context of a longitudinal faculty development program. Methods: Using a qualitative case study approach, data from three cohorts of a 2-year faculty development program were explored and analyzed for emerging issues and themes related to AI. Results: Factors salient to the formation of AI were grouped into three major domains: personal (cognitive and emotional factors unique to each individual); relational (connections and interactions with others); and contextual (the program itself and external work environments). Discussion: Faculty development initiatives not only aim to develop knowledge, skills, and attitudes, but also contribute to the formation of academic identities in a number of different ways. Facilitating the growth of AI has the potential to increase faculty motivation, satisfaction, and productivity. Faculty developers need to be mindful of factors within the personal, relational, and contextual domains when considering issues of program design and implementation.

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Background: Narrative medicine is increasingly popular in undergraduate medical curricula. Moreover, although faculty are expected to use narrative approaches in teaching, few faculty development learning activities have been described. In addition, data on the impact of faculty development initiatives designed to teach narrative are limited, and there is a paucity of tools to assess their impact. Aims: To assess the impact and outcomes of a faculty development workshop on narrative medicine. Methods: Two groups of clinical teachers were studied; one group had already attended a half-day narrative medicine workshop (N ¼ 10) while the other had not yet attended (N ¼ 9). Both groups were interviewed about their uses of narrative in teaching and practice. Additionally, the understanding of a set of narrative skills was assessed by first viewing a video of a narrative-based teaching session followed by completion of an 18-item assessment tool. Results: Both groups reported that they used narrative in both their teaching and clinical practice. Those who had attended the workshop articulated a more nuanced understanding of narrative terms compared to those who had not yet attended. Conclusion: This study is one of the first to describe measureable impacts of a faculty development workshop on narrative medicine.