The Veterinary Identity: A Time and Context Model

Abstract

The nature of professionalism teaching is a current issue in veterinary education, with an individual's identity as a professional having implications for their values and behaviours, and for their career satisfaction and psychological wellbeing. An appropriately formed professional identity imparts competence in making complex decisions: those that involve multiple perspectives and are complicated by contextual challenges. It enables an individual to act in a way that aligns with their professional values and priorities, and imparts resilience to situations in which their actions are dissonant to these personal beliefs. There are challenges in professionalism teaching that relate to student engagement and faculty confidence in this area. However, these cannot be addressed without first defining the veterinary professional identity, in effect, the aim of professionalism teaching. In this paper, existing identity models from the wider literature have been analysed through a veterinary lens. This analysis has then been used to construct a model of veterinary professional identity which incorporates the self (personal morals and values), social development (learning from the workplace environment), and professional behaviours. Individuals that form what we have termed "self-environment-behaviour connections" are proposed to be able to use workplace learning opportunities to inform their identity development, such that environmental complexity does not obstruct the link between values and behaviours. Those who fail to connect with the environment in this way may perceive that environmental influences (the client, financial limitations) are obstructive to enacting their desired identity, and they may struggle with decisionmaking in complex scenarios.

‘I wish I was someone else’: complexities in identity formation and professional wellbeing in veterinary surgeons

“…The frustration and career dissatisfaction demonstrated by diagnosis-oriented veterinarians working in a malaligned environment was initially attributed to a failure to reflect on context during identity formation. 16 However, Jane demonstrated this reflection in her appreciation of relational identity attributes. Instead, persistent identity confusion appeared to originate from the dominance of the academic discourse in professional culture, with 'diagnostic expert' persisting as the only way by which a 'good vet' could be understood, despite this being in conflict with the positive messages received from clients and colleagues.…”

“…Owner wasn't too bothered and didn't want to pursue any work up. (Quoted from Armitage-Chan & May 2018b, p. 3) 16 Veterinary students are defined as high-achievers, 45 and this initial text analysis raised concerns about the vulnerability of perfectionist-prone students to a dominant discourse that appeared detrimental to career satisfaction and wellbeing. However, despite Karl's ambitious and high-achieving nature, characterising his identity according to academic priorities had presented a paradox.…”

“…This complexity has been explored elsewhere in greater detail within the context of the veterinary profession. 16 Professional identity is a specific example of selfidentity in the workplace context. It is inherently contextual and social, formed through and enacted within social interactions in the veterinary workplace.…”

Applying the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS) to medical, veterinary and dual degree Master of Public Health (MPH) students at a private medical institution

“…SIT links the development of professional identity to readiness for IPE [30] which is linked to the students' perceived relevance of IPE [31]. According to Armitage-Chan and May [21] as students' progress through their degree programs, their readiness for IPE emerges through their ability to negotiate their identity to the demands of their context or program. This study expands on these previous findings through the inclusion of the MD/MPH and DVM/MPH student groups.…”

“…Lewitt, Cross, Sheward and Beirne [20] in a recent article, express the view that early introduction of IPE coupled with social frameworks that are sensitive to professional identity frameworks are essential for interprofessional learning. According to Armitage-Chan and May [21] the temporal development of professional identity is consonant with the enunciations of Perry's framework [22]. Perry [22] described the progressive cognitive development that occurs in students from the novice stages of enrolment, during which they hold singular perspectives, to a senior level, where they begin to view and value alternate perspectives.…”