Beginning medical teachers often see themselves as doctors or researchers rather than as teachers. Using both figured worlds theory and dialogical self theory, this study explores how beginning teachers in the field of undergraduate medical education integrate the teacher role into their identity. A qualitative study was performed, involving 18 beginning medical teachers at a Dutch medical school. The teachers were interviewed twice and kept a logbook over a period of 7 months. The study shows that the integration of the teacher role into the teachers’ identity was hampered by the idea that teaching is perceived by others as a low status occupation. Some teachers experienced significant tension because of this, while others showed resilience in resisting the negative associations that were thought to exist regarding teaching. The teachers used five different identity narratives in order to integrate the teacher role into their identity, in which the positions of teacher and doctor or researcher were found to be combined, adopted or rejected in diverse ways. The five identity narratives were: (1) coalition between the I-position of teacher and other I-positions; (2) no integration of the I-position of teacher: holding on to other I-positions; (3) construction of the I-position of teacher and other I-positions as opposites; (4) coalition between the I-position of teacher and a third position of coordinator; and (5) meta-position: trivialising the importance of status. These identity narratives offer starting points for supporting undergraduate teachers during their early professional years.

In 2006 gaven Zwierstra et al. een overzicht van de ontwikkeling en stand van zaken op het gebied van docentprofessionalisering. 1 Zij constateerden in de afgelopen tien tot vijftien jaar een toegenomen bewustwording van de noodzaak van professionalisering van docenten als gevolg van de Raamplannen 1994 en 2001, van de curriculumvernieuwingen die vervolgens in Nederland zijn doorgevoerd en van de veranderde eisen die aan de vervolgopleidingen en opleiders worden gesteld. De auteurs geven aan dat sinds 1994 steeds méér medisch docenten worden geschoold, en activiteiten op het gebied van docentprofessionalisering steeds breder en specifieker zijn geworden. 1 Ondanks de toegenomen bewustwording van het belang van docentprofessionalisering en de toegenomen deelname, blijven er voor docenten in de medische opleidingen barrières bestaan om deel te nemen aan professionaliseringsactiviteiten op het gebied van onderwijs. Uit recente onderzoeken naar dit onderwerp komt een paradoxaal beeld naar voren. 2-4 Enerzijds blijkt dat docenten het belang van professionali