The medical training is perceived to be the most stressful experience. The medical school environment is challenging to most of the students as they have to deal effectively with different areas while developing their career (Jetten, Haslam & Haslam, 2012). The medical education is for both development of the professional identity and the medical knowledge. The professional identities are usually contested and allowed through the synergistic external and internal process of the identification which is constituted in and through artefacts and language in the institutional sites(White, Borges & Geiger,2011). Therefore, the manner in which the medical students develop the professional identity and the subsequent conceptualization of their multiple identities as this has crucial implications of their own well being (Cohen, Kay, Youakim & Balaicuis,2009).
The professional identity or how the medical students identify themselves as doctors is crucial for acquisitions of knowledge and skills that are critical to the patient care. It also determines their relationships that they develop with their colleagues and patients in the hospital. According to O’Reilly,McNeill,Mavor & Anderson,(2014),the relationship between the professional identity and well being is bidirectional or redox in nature, as the change in one affects the other. However, the process of developing self identity is complex, the medical students may experience high levels of poor well being which can lead to poor performance in the medical school, burnout and substance abuse .
According to Burford (2012), he introduced an application of the social identity theory to describe how the medical students develop their professional identities. In addition, Cohen, Kay, Youakim & Balaicuis, (2009) study argue that development of the medical students’ identities is critical for the development of skills. Different literature agree that the medical students are required to deal with high levels of stress that can lead to the high level prevalence of psychological problems which affect their well being. The professional identity developmental process can cause stress which can lead to depressions, cynicism, and suicide ideation and can have a negative effect on their learning and patients. However, this study focuses on the various co-occurring processes that are related to self identity in the medical education that could have an effect on the student’s well being in negative or a positive way. The student’s psychological well being is essential for a positive outcome in learning, relationships in the hospital environment.
Aims/ Objective
The aim of this study is to examine the effect of professional identity development on the well-being of medical students
Research question
What is the effect of lapses in professionalism on the well being of medical students
How does the students learning environment affect the well being of medical students
Research Methodology
The research will use an observational research method. A longitudinal research design will be applied. This study will be carried out on a group of participants who are in the third year medical school students as they are in the peak process of developing a professional identity. Since it would not be easy to work with the whole population of the students , a number of them will be chosen using the following formular.
The Fishers formula will be used to determine the desired sample size N = z2 pq
d2
N = desired sample size
Z = standard normal deviate 95% confidence levels (1.96)
P = proportion in the target population 20%
Q = (1-p) = 1 – 0.5 = 0.5
D is degree of accuracy set at 0.05
N therefore =(1.96)2 x 0.2 x 0.3 =92
(0.05)2
The researcher will rely on a cohort study to evaluate the role of professional identity on the well being of the medical students. The data will be collected through a period of 12 months in which the sampled students' social behaviour will be observed and recorded. The study results will be analyzed qualitatively.
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References
Burford, B. (2012). Group processes in medical education: learning from social identity theory. Med Educ.46 (2):143–52.
Cohen M.J, Kay A, Youakim JM, Balaicuis JM (2009). Identity Transformation in Medical Students.Am J Psychoanal.69 (2):178-178.
O’Reilly.E, McNeill, Kathleen G. Mavor, Kenneth I. & Katrina ,A (2014). Looking Beyond Personal Stressors: An Examination of How Academic Stressors Contribute to Depression in Australian Graduate Medical Students, Teaching and Learning in Medicine: An International Journal, 26:1, 56-63
Jetten J, Haslam C, Haslam S, A,(2012). The Social Cure: Identity, Health and Wellbeing. Psychology Press.
White M,T, Borges N,J and Geiger ,S (2011). Perceptions of factors contributing to professional identity development and specialty choice: a survey of third- and fourth-year medical students. ABSAME.17(1):18-23.
