" Am I even a med-student anymore?" A Mixed-Methods Study of the Impact of the Initial Disruptions Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Student Professional Identity Formation

Abigail A Luman; Madison Bagley; Jorie M Colbert-Getz; Todd Christensen; Janet E Lindsley; Candace J Chow

doi:10.1007/s40670-022-01652-4

" Am I even a med-student anymore?" A Mixed-Methods Study of the Impact of the Initial Disruptions Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medical Student Professional Identity Formation

Med Sci Educ. 2022 Oct 18;32(6):1387-1395. doi: 10.1007/s40670-022-01652-4. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Abigail A Luman¹, Madison Bagley¹, Jorie M Colbert-Getz², Todd Christensen¹, Janet E Lindsley³, Candace J Chow²

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT USA.
² Department of Internal Medicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Rm 210.23, 27 S Mario Capecchi Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84113 USA.
³ Department of Biochemistry, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT USA.

Abstract

Purpose: Developing a professional identity requires learners to integrate themselves into the medical profession and take on the role of doctor. The impact of COVID-19 on medical education has been widely investigated, but little attention has been paid to the impact of students' professional identify formation (PIF). The goal of this study was to investigate the impact that the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had on medical students' PIF.

Materials and methods: An embedded mixed-methods design was utilized. Focus groups were conducted with a subset of year 1-4 students and coded using thematic analysis. Year 1-2 students were surveyed about their professional identity integration in the spring of 2020. Responses were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed rank and Mann-Whitney U tests.

Results: Qualitative data were organized into six themes that touched on losses and challenges, reflection, and reevaluation of the physician career. Roughly 50% of MS1s and MS2s reported a change in their professional identity integration, but this was not statistically significant.

Conclusions: Medical education does not occur in isolation and is influenced by disruptive local and global events. Students perceived challenges when in-person community interaction and hands-on clinical experiences were interrupted. Additionally, students reflected upon their own role and their future career goals.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40670-022-01652-4.

Keywords: COVID-19; Professional identity; Professional identity formation; Undergraduate medical education.

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