Because We Care: A Philosophical Investigation into the Spirit of Medical Education

Coccia, Camillo; Veen, Mario

doi:10.1080/10401334.2022.2056744

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…In this paper, we have focused on identity as a core concept that shapes our relationship with trainees. But medical education has recently seen initiatives that fundamentally interrogate other complex concepts that that we use every day: reflection [37], professionalism [38] [15], care [2], science [39], technology [40], and skillification [41]. Many of these concepts are ways to create a conscious relationship to our field, within which metrics and technical thinking have their proper place.…”

Section: Growing Our Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How to Grow a Professional Identity: Philosophical Gardening in the Field of Medical Education

Veen¹,

Croix²

2023

Perspect Med Educ

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In this philosophical reflection, we – following the philosopher Heidegger - introduce two farmers who represent different ways in which one can develop growth (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7jZigyfKHI for instructional video). One is a traditional farmer who entrusts the seeds to the soil and cultivates them with care and trust. The other is a modern farmer who takes an industrialized approach and positions the seeds and ‘challenges-forth’ the crops to show themselves in a certain way. We use these farmers as an analogy for the ways in which we as medical educators can and should relate to those we ‘care’ for: medical students and trainees. Taking a philosophical stance, and accounting for our own positionality and involvement in the analysis, we focus on ‘Professional Identity Formation’ and its operationalization in the field of medical education. We identify three main approaches medical education has taken to identity: as an individual trait, as a set of behaviors, and as a socialization process. All these approaches have at their root a similar assumption, namely that all inner processes can be made visible. We challenge this representational paradigm and use ‘philosophical gardening’ to raise awareness of what can and cannot be measured and controlled. Finally, we suggest educational approaches that leave space for diversity in students’ experiences, learning approaches, and growth. We share good practices of brave teachers and curriculum designers whose interventions are characterized by less control and fewer measurements of personal growth, but more trust and free spaces for authentic learning.

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Section: Growing Our Fieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A medical educator cares for their students, develops a curriculum and oversees the whole process of students turning into junior doctors. Both gardening and medical education can, as such, be seen as forms of care [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%