Scalpel Please! A Scoping Review Dissecting the Factors and Influences on Professional Identity Development of Trainees Within Surgical Programs

Abstract

Professional identity development is a multifaceted process that has recently sparked interest in medical education. Literature in professional identity development has focused predominantly on medical students and postgraduate medical training and much less on surgery, despite the unique challenges faced by surgical trainees while trying to emulate the identity of a self-actualized surgeon.A scoping review was performed to explore the factors and influences on professional identity development of surgeons in training. MEDLINE, PubMed, and OpenGrey databases were initially screened for relevant existing literature of professional identity development in surgical trainees, including quantitative, qualitative, and gray literature, followed by a hand search of references that appeared to be of pertinence. Seven hundred and five records were initially identified. Following the removal of duplicates and application of study selection criteria, 11 studies were included in the review.Professional identity development in surgical trainees was found to be influenced by a variety of intricately interrelating factors. Gaps in the literature were identified, highlighting possible areas of future research to better elucidate the overall process of identity development in budding surgeons and help guide interventions and programs to facilitate the transition of trainees to qualified and independently practicing surgeons.

The development of professional identity in clinical psychologists: A scoping review

“…The majority of articles ( n = 21) utilised interview data, with the remaining three drawing on published life narratives and reflective journals. This reflects the state of qualitative professional identities research across other disciplines 7,14,37 . For example, a recent review of physician identities research identified that semi‐structured interview data prevails 14 .…”

“…There have been a number of reviews over the past decade synthesising the increasingly available empirical literature exploring a range of health care professional identities 2,5,7–15 . Much of the literature within these studies originates from the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia 2,7–10 .…”

“…While we are beginning to establish how the development of professional identities occurs through socialisation processes-the hows of identity-the exact particulars of this process within and across health care professional groups are lacking. 5,[7][8][9] Furthermore, it has been argued that there is sufficient difference across health care professions to warrant specific attention to disciplines 9 to better understand what this means politically and socially for each health care profession (the whats of identity). For example, clinical psychologists are specialised mental health care providers in health settings specifically trained to assess, diagnose and treat patients with complex mental health difficulties.…”

“…To begin this process of knowing, a knowledge synthesis approach was deemed the first step before embarking on knowledge translation or the development of new research. Although there have been several recent scoping reviews of professional identities across a range of health care professions exploring how health care professions conceptualise, operationalise and assess professional identity formation, 2,5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] only two have focused solely on mental health care professionals, 5,13 with clinical psychologists being notably absent. We aim to address this issue by undertaking a scoping review to address the following overarching research question (RQ) 'how and in what ways do clinical psychologists develop their professional identities?…”

Current Attitudes Toward Neuroanatomy: A Comparative Cross-Sectional Survey of Neurosurgeons from the United Kingdom and Worldwide

“…A strong evidence base exists within and outside of neurosurgery demonstrating a correlation between clinical performance and objective assessment of surgeons' anatomical pro ciency. 38,39 Despite anatomy expertise representing an intrinsic aspect of the neurosurgical professional identity, [40][41][42] around a quarter of respondents stated they did not enjoy studying neuroanatomy and a smaller fraction believed that studying neuroanatomy was not relevant. It is unclear whether carrying these sentiments may impact learning and clinical performance.…”