“Nothing Shows Up As It Would in the Book”: Medical Students and Professional Identity Development

• In Event: Restorative Identity Formation in Professions Education

Abstract

This presentation will focus on findings from a qualitative study on the identity development of third-year medical students in the United States, who at the time of this study (2023-2024) were completing clerkship rotations where they shadowed and assisted physicians and interacted with patients in a range of clinical settings. Two central questions guided this study: 1) How do third- year medical students negotiate core and hidden medical school curricula while doing rotations?; and 2) How does this contribute to their sense of what it means to be a physician? Data are analyzed using the theory of emotional capital as a source of personal reflection and action. Implications for just renewal in medical education and practice will be discussed.

Authors

• Liv T. Davila, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Grace Park, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign