Lessons Learned from Introducing the Characteristic of an Outstanding Medical Teacher: Its Implication in Role Modeling and Professionalism

Abstract

Background Role models play a crucial role in determining the professional development of medical trainees. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to gain in-depth understanding of the outstanding qualities of one successful role model in Iran. We described his character, personality and merits as a conceptual framework for role modeling in medical education.Methods Qualitative descriptive study. Inductive content analysis was performed, and data were collected by conducting interviews. The study was done in the school of medicine of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran. Twenty five medical students, medical graduates and faculty members participated in 25 interviews from April to December 2019. The participants were recruited via purposive sampling.Results Five themes, 13 subthemes, and 46 categories were extracted from the data, and the conceptual framework of role modeling in medical education was developed.Conclusion In this study, we designed a framework for role modeling in medical education Based on this framework, role models in medical education can function as mentors, medical leaders, clinical teachers, and professional instructors. Overall, role modeling is an important concept in medical education, and results of this article contributes to maintain the high quality of medical education.

Key Attributes of a Medical Learning Community Mentor at One Medical School: The Mentee Perspective

“…This competence is echoed in the literature. A recent survey of mentees who matched into plastic surgery residencies found that items related to a genuine interest in the mentee’s career and personal development and a willingness to set aside time for teaching as the highest-rated attributes (Ahmady et al, 2020; Barker et al, 2016; Braunreiter et al, 2022; Frosch & Goldstein, 2019; Vuk et al, 2021). The mentees from the same study also stressed the importance of one-on-one time with their mentor and listed mentors’ time constraints as a substantial barrier to the mentorship relationship (Barker et al, 2016).…”