The Impact of Role Models on Medical Students

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:To explore the relationship between exposure to clinical role models during medical school and the students' choice of clinical field for residency training, and to estimate the strength of this association. DESIGN:Cross-section study. SETTING:McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal, Canada. PARTICIPANTS:Of the 146 graduating medical students in the class of 1995, 136 participated. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:Clinical field chosen by students for residency training and the students' assessment of their exposure to and interaction with physician role models were the main measurements. Ninety percent of graduating students had identified a role model or models during medical school. Personality, clinical skills and competence, and teaching ability were most important in the selection of a role model, while research achievements and academic position were least important. Odds ratios between interacting with "sufficient" role models in a given clinical field and choosing that same clinical field for residency were 12.8 for pediatrics, 5.1 for family medicine, 4.7 for internal medicine, and 3.6 for surgery. Most students (63%) received career counseling and advice from their role models. CONCLUSIONS:Exposure to role models in a particular clinical field is strongly associated with medical students' choice of clinical field for residency training. Knowing which characteristics students look for in their role models should help identify the physicians who may be most influential in medical students' career choice. ole models in medical education not only are important in enhancing learning but also have been shown to affect students' choice of residency and career. 1-3 Retaining interest in primary care fields has been a challenge in recent years. 4,5 The few studies attempting to identify the factors important to promote "generalism" suggest that role models might be influential. 6,7 Ficklin et al. asserted that role modeling, or teaching by example, is an educational method that students encounter throughout their medical school training, in the classroom and laboratory as well as during bedside rounds and in the outpatient setting. 8 They also found that for role modeling to be an effective teaching method, faculty members must understand that all of their interactions and attitudes affect students. KEY WORDSShuval and Adler studied the interaction between medical students and their teachers. 9 These authors noted that although some teachers and clinicians may be outstanding role models, students generally pick and choose traits from many models so that their internal values are an amalgam from a variety of sources. They noted three basic patterns: active identification (includes classic modeling in which one emulates the role model), active rejection, and inactive orientation (includes reinforcement of the student's preexisting values). Active identification was the most common student-physician interaction.Some medical schools attempt to foster these important relationships by assigning a mento...

Role-Modeling Cost-Conscious Care—A National Evaluation of Perceptions of Faculty at Teaching Hospitals in the United States

“…[9][10][11] However, many faculty physicians trained in a culture that did not place as much emphasis on reducing unnecessary costs of care; therefore, they must adapt their own teaching methods and practice patterns to better influence trainees to be good stewards of health care resources. 12,13 Given the significant impact of faculty behavior on resident practice patterns, [9][10][11] it is of vital importance to understand whether faculty are appropriately role-modeling cost-conscious care.…”

The Influence of Mentorship and Role Modeling on Developing Physician–Leaders: Views of Aspiring and Established Physician–Leaders

“…12 Role models can have a powerful effect on students and residents in training. Wright et al 13 found that interaction with a "sufficient" role model influenced career choice. Another study of physician executives found that most felt more comfortable with the label of "role model" rather than "mentor" when describing people who influenced their careers 14 .…”

Honor Our Role Models

“…Issues for Women and Minorities. As Wright 1 and others 2,3 have shown, female students preferentially choose female role models. In one study, 2 female graduate students who identified female professors as role models described themselves as more confident and reported increased satisfaction with the student role when compared with female students who had male role models.…”