Exploring medical students’ professional identity formation through written reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic

Findyartini, Ardi; Anggraeni, Dewi; Husin, Joseph Mikhael; Greviana, Nadia

doi:10.4081/jphr.2020.1918

Cited by 53 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Recognizing one's own emotional state and how to regulate it is essential for medical students as they learn to work in the high stress medical environment. Educators can help students by incorporating reflection in assignments and having open conversations about wellness [31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Socialization is key to the development of professional identity, defined as "the attitudes, values, knowledge, beliefs and skills shared with others within a professional group." [36] Educators can combat this disruption by utilizing guided reflection exercises in which students are challenged to review their current roles, discuss strategies of wellbeing, and pursue ethical venues for volunteering [27,31]. Additionally, implementation of case-review series or including students in telehealth medicine may help compensate for missed clinical time [14].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Students also felt a strong desire to help their communities. Although their capacity as physicians may be limited, students can play a vital role in public health initiatives and educating their communities about safe practices [31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life during the pandemic: an international photo-elicitation study with medical students

et al. 2021

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Background The SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global event with unprecedented impact on individuals and communities around the world. The purpose of this study is to use a modified photo-elicitation methodology to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of medical students and their communities around the world. Methods Participating medical students were asked to take photographs for 14 days. In lieu of an interview, which is customary for photo-elicitation projects, participants were asked to share a reflection (a paragraph or two) for each photograph they contributed to the study. Results Between April 27th, 2020 and May 11th, 2020 26 students from 19 medical schools across 13 countries shared photographs and reflections. Qualitative analysis of written reflections revealed that medical students felt the impact of the pandemic on several levels 1) individual, 2) interpersonal, 3) educational, and 4) societal. Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of medical students on multiple levels. As individuals, students felt emotional distress but found resilience through physical activity and the establishment of new routines. Many students felt isolated as their interpersonal relationships were confined due to social distancing measures. These feelings could be combated with new educational initiatives focused on group collaboration. Lastly, students reflecting on the larger societal implications were concerned with the economic ramifications of the virus and its impact on their future. This study brought together students from several different countries to engage in an applied learning program as a model for equitable global health research.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life during the pandemic: an international photo-elicitation study with medical students

et al. 2021

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“…Other researchers have also mined written reflections for insights on the effects of COVID-19 but these were conducted with a focus on educators [9] and graduate students [10]. Findyartini and colleagues also explored health professions students' written reflections by looking at medical students in Indonesia [11]. Our study provides another case-study in this area to triangulate Finyartini and colleagues' results.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Pharmacy Student Challenges and Strategies towards Initial COVID-19 Curriculum Changes

et al. 2021

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Due to COVID-19, tertiary institutions were forced to deliver knowledge virtually, which proposed challenges for both institutions and students. In this study, we aimed to characterize pharmacy students’ challenges and strategies during COVID-19 curriculum changes, therefore developing a comprehensive understanding of students’ learning, wellbeing, and resilience in the ever-changing situation. Data were collected from student written reflections across four year levels at one school of pharmacy from March–May 2020. In addition, data were collected from written responses of second-year pharmacy students responding to prompted questions. The data were qualitatively analyzed inductively by five coders using NVivo 12. For each piece of data, two coders independently coded the data, calculated the inter-rater agreement, and resolved discrepancies. The most coded challenges were ‘negative emotional response’ and ‘communication barrier during virtual learning’. The most coded strategies were ‘using new technology’ and ‘time management’. This study allows researchers and education institutions to gain an overview of pharmacy students’ experiences during COVID-19, therefore helping universities to provide students with necessary support and techniques on how to self-cope with COVID-19 as well as stressful events in the future.

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“…One US institution even used the pause in clinical activity to deliver a structured professional identity curriculum to their medical students 16 . One study of Indonesian students' reflections on their role during Covid-19 focused on how students have adapted their learning to the new demands of the pandemic and argued that, despite disruptions, students recalled experiences that had enabled continuation of their professional identity development 17 . This study is not intended to replace the calls for a reimagining of how student doctors integrate their identities with those of a professional, but rather to explore how disruptions influenced identity development, particularly focusing on the conflicts between the different identities that medical students possess.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘I don’t feel like I’m learning how to be a doctor’: early insights regarding the impact of Covid-19 on UK medical student professional identity

Harvey

Brown

Byrne

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Phenomenon Professional identity development is recognised as a core goal of medical education alongside knowledge and skill acquisition. Identity is a complex entity that can be conceptualised as externally influenced, but individually constructed. Integration from legitimate bystander to "old timer" of the medical community of practice provides a backdrop for individual negotiation of professional identity. During Covid-19, the medical community of practice and education experienced significant disruption. We sought to investigate how these disruptions impacted professional identity development by examining conflicts between students' identities highlighted by the pressures of the pandemic. Approach A mixed-methods survey was distributed to medical students in the UK. The survey was active from 2nd May to 15th June 2020, during the height of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. Operating within the paradigm of constructivism, we conducted a reflexive thematic analysis of qualitative responses. Analysis was focused around the disruption to medical education, actions taken by medical students during this disruption, and the tension between student actions where they existed in conflict. Findings Three themes were constructed to describe the identities that participants felt were in conflict during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic: Status and role as a future doctor; status and role as a student; and status and role as a member of the wider community. Students noted that lack of clinical exposure was detrimental to their education, implicitly recognising that many aspects of professional identity formation are forged in the clinical environment. Participants were keen to volunteer clinically but struggled to balance this with academic work. Participants worried about the risk to their families and the wider community, and wanted to ensure that their skills would add value to the clinical environment. Volunteers felt frustrated when they were unable to perform tasks which aligned with their identities future doctors, with the exception of participants who worked as interim FY1s (FiY1s), which aligned well with the roles of FY1s. Insights As hypothesised, the participants in this study experienced disruptions to their professional identity development during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. This work provides early evidence, collected at the beginning of the pandemic, that the effects of disruptions to professional identity development were wide-reaching, often negative, and represent an important topic for future exploration. Given that the pandemic has highlighted areas of identity tension, these findings have the potential to provide insight into how medical training can better nurture professional identity development during and beyond international crises.

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Exploring medical students’ professional identity formation through written reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 53 publications

References 31 publications

Life during the pandemic: an international photo-elicitation study with medical students

Life during the pandemic: an international photo-elicitation study with medical students

Pharmacy Student Challenges and Strategies towards Initial COVID-19 Curriculum Changes

‘I don’t feel like I’m learning how to be a doctor’: early insights regarding the impact of Covid-19 on UK medical student professional identity

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