Professional Identity Development in Medical Students at Basic Sciences Stage
Shiraz University Of Medical Sciences
ABSTRACT
This study aimed at investigating the factors contributing to the formation of professional identity of medical students at the stage of basic sciences. To fulfill the mentioned goal, 41 male and female students at the international branch of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences took part in the study. Through long term interaction and interview with the students, it was revealed that several factors are involved in the development of medical students' professional identity that could be categorized as educational, familial, socio-economic, and personal. Such categorization, then, constituted the questionnaire that was constructed based on Personality and Social Structure Perspective (PSSP) model (House, 1977). The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated as 0.73l; then, it was administered to find out the contribution of the mentioned factors. Descriptive and analytic data analysis revealed that the factors are significantly different, with the personal factor ranking first. Social, educational, and familial factors stood next, respectively. It was concluded that at the basic science stage, the students are more influenced by their own attitude than their family, social or educational factors. This might turn out to be different at later stages of their education, which can be the issue to be further studied. Those interested in the formation and development of professional identity in students, whether medical students, authorities of medical education, professors, administrators, and even parents can find this study beneficial.
KEYWORDS
identity, medical students, professional identity, personality, social factors