Social and Professional Impact of Learning Communities Within the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Program at Michigan State University

At Michigan State University (MSU), the AGEP learning community features the participation of over 70% of the African-American, Latinx, and Native-American under-represented minorities (URM), also referred to as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) doctoral students in fields sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Monthly learning community (LC) meetings allow AGEP participants to create dialogues across disciplines through informal oral presentations about current research. The learning communities also offer opportunities to share key information regarding graduate school success and experience; thus providing a social network that extends beyond the academic setting. At MSU, AGEP also provides an interdisciplinary and multigenerational environment that includes graduate students, faculty members, post-docs and prospective graduate students. Using monthly surveys over a 4-year period, we evaluated the impact of this AGEP initiative focusing on the utility of the program, perceptions of departmental climate, career plans and institutional support. Findings indicate that AGEP participants consider their experiences in the program as vital elements in the development of their professional identity, psychological safety, and career readiness. Experiences that were identified included networking across departments, focus on career placement, involvement in minority recruitment and professional development opportunities. Additionally, AGEP community participants resonated with the "sense of community" that is at the core of the MSU AGEP program legacy. In this article, we proposed a variation of Tomlinson's Graduate Student Capital model to describe the AGEP participants' perceptions and experiences in MSU AGEP. Within this 4-year period, we report over 70% graduation rate (completing with advanced degrees). More than half of Ph.D. students and almost 30% of master's degree students decided to pursue academia as their careers. In addition, we found a high satisfaction rate of AGEP among the participants. Our analysis on graduate student capital helped us identify motivating capital development by years spent at MSU and as an AGEP member. These findings may provide some insight into which capitals may be deemed important for students relative to their experiences at MSU and in AGEP and how their priorities change as they transition toward graduation.

A Scoping Review of Professional Identity Formation in Undergraduate Medical Education

BACKGROUND

Professional identity formation (PIF) in medical students is a multifactorial phenomenon, shaped by ways that clinical and non-clinical experiences, expectations and environmental factors merge with individual values, beliefs and obligations. The relationship between students' evolving professional identity and self-identity or personhood remains ill-defined, making it challenging for medical schools to support PIF systematically and strategically. Primarily, to capture prevailing literature on PIF in medical school education, and secondarily, to ascertain how PIF influences on medical students may be viewed through the lens of the ring theory of personhood (RToP) and to identify ways that medical schools support PIF.

METHODS

A systematic scoping review was conducted using the systematic evidence-based approach. Articles published between 1 January 2000 and 1 July 2020 related to PIF in medical students were searched using PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, ERIC and Scopus. Articles of all study designs (quantitative and qualitative), published or translated into English, were included. Concurrent thematic and directed content analyses were used to evaluate the data.

RESULTS

A total of 10443 abstracts were identified, 272 full-text articles evaluated, and 76 articles included. Thematic and directed content analyses revealed similar themes and categories as follows: characteristics of PIF in relation to professionalism, role of socialization in PIF, PIF enablers and barriers, and medical school approaches to supporting PIF.

DISCUSSION

PIF involves iterative construction, deconstruction and inculcation of professional beliefs, values and behaviours into a pre-existent identity. Through the lens of RToP, factors were elucidated that promote or hinder students' identity development on individual, relational or societal levels. If inadequately or inappropriately supported, enabling factors become barriers to PIF. Medical schools employ an all-encompassing approach to support PIF, illuminating the need for distinct and deliberate longitudinal monitoring and mentoring to foster students' balanced integration of personal and professional identities over time.

Employability as a Guiding Outcome in Veterinary Education: Findings of the VetSet2Go Project

This paper presents a mini-review of employability as a guiding outcome in veterinary education-its conceptualisation, utility, core elements and dimensions, and pedagogical approaches-through a summary of the findings of a major international project with the same aims (the VetSet2Go project). Guided by a conception of the successful veterinary professional as one capable of navigating and sustainably balancing the (sometimes competing) needs and expectations of multiple stakeholders, the project integrated multiple sources of evidence to derive an employability framework representing the dimensions and capabilities most important to veterinary professional success. This framework provides a useful complement to those based in narrower views of competency and professionalism. One notable difference is its added emphasis on broad success outcomes of satisfaction and sustainability as well as task-oriented efficacy, thus inserting "the self" as a major stakeholder and bringing attention to resilience and sustainable well-being. The framework contains 18 key capabilities consistently identified as important to employability in the veterinary context, aligned to five broad, overlapping domains: veterinary capabilities (task-oriented work performance), effective relationships (approaches to others), professional commitment (approaches to work and the broader professional "mission"), psychological resources (approaches to self), plus a central process of reflective self-awareness and identity formation. A summary of evidence supporting these is presented, as well as recommendations for situating, developing, and accessing these as learning outcomes within veterinary curricula. Though developed within the specific context of veterinarian transition-to-practise, this framework would be readily adaptable to other professions, particularly in other health disciplines.

The Effect of Perceived Over-Qualification on Turnover Intention From a Cognition Perspective

Employee turnover caused by over-qualification has become a new problem in organizational management. The mechanism underpinning the boundaries between perceived over-qualification and employee turnover, however, remains unclear. To address this gap, the current study employed multi-factor ANOVA, hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method to analyze the relationship between perceived over-qualification and employee turnover intention based on the survey data of 396 respondents in China. Overall, the results revealed that perceived over-qualification was positively correlated with turnover intention. It was also found that self-efficacy had a mediating effect on the relationship between perceived over-qualification and turnover intention. Further, professional identity had a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived over-qualification and turnover intention. Our findings expand the boundary of influence around perceived over-qualification and provide theoretical support for employee management.

Professional Identity Formation in Health Promotion Practitioners: Students' Perspectives during an Undergraduate Program in Switzerland

The health promotion (HP) community advocates for capacity building, quality assurance and political awareness of HP. Professional identity (PI) is of great relevance to these goals as persons who strongly identify with their profession better adopt their professional role, raising the quality, competence and common values within a professional group. However, investigations on the HP workforce are missing. In order to investigate PI formation in HP professionals, a longitudinal study was conducted with two student cohorts of a Swiss HP and prevention undergraduate program. Using a qualitative approach, focus groups were conducted at the beginning and end of the undergraduate program. Data were transcribed verbatim and condensed using thematic analysis. The results highlight the complexity of the HP’s professional profile. While students experienced difficulties to capture the profile at the beginning of the program, at the end they developed an understanding of it. The practical experience within work placements helped students to grasp the profile and specify their future professional role. Several behavioral, cognitive and motivational aspects were identified that influence HP students’ PI formation and can be fostered. For instance, universities can commit to public relations for HP practitioners and support the PI formation throughout the study program.

Psychometric Analysis of the Professional Identity Questionnaires in Croatian Nursing Student Context

Introduction: The identification of nursing students with their profession, as well as gained professional competencies, are the crucial factors of the quality of their future work activities and the level of safety of the patient they are taking care of. Therefore, it is of utter importance to estimate the nursing students' professional identity during their education. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to translate Professional Identity Five-Factor Scale and Identity questionnaire, to test their psychometric properties in Croatian practice and to identify more suitable instrument of measuring the level of nursing students' professional identity in Croatian context. Methods: Quantitative, cross-sectional two-phase study was performed. In the first phase translated questionnaires were administered to a sample of 432 nursing students. Based on the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), which revealed poor model fit, the principal component analysis was conducted. In the second phase, CFA was used to test the Croatian version of the instruments' factor structure on a sample of 222 students with different study orientations. Results: The CFA results, conducted in first phase, do not support the original version of the factor structures of the Professional Identity Five-Factor Scale and Identity models. The exploratory approach showed that the translated Professional Identity Five-Factor Scale had three factors with good psychometric properties explaining 49.35% of the variance. Translated Identity questionnaire had a two-factor structure (63.46% explained variance) with good reliability properties. In the second phase, on another heterogeneous sample of students, the described factor structure was found to have a good model fit obtained by CFA. Conclusions: According to the findings, Professional Identity Five-Factor is more appropriate for evaluating professional identity of nursing students, and Identity is probably better suited to measure professional identity among working professionals.

Reframing leadership: Leader identity challenges of the emergency physician

Emergency medicine (EM) leadership is often conceptualised as either administrative leadership within the structure (e.g. head-of-committee leader) or operational/functional leadership within a group (e.g. resuscitation-scenario team leader). While these bases of identity are practically useful, they often do not take into account the intricate, underlying challenges to one's leader identity presented by the dynamic, fluid and transient context of EM leadership. In particular, emergency physicians face various leader identity challenges such as nonreciprocal leadership claims and grants at the interpersonal level, identity confusion with multiple roles at the intrapersonal level, tribalism at the team level and antithesis of identity workspace at the organisational level. The present paper proposes a reframing of EM leadership as a socially constructed identity process, whereby emergent leaders learn at the individual level to address identity challenges as they negotiate the nuances of leader-follower interactions. Similarly, at an organisational level, there is an opportunity for formal and emergent leaders to create psychologically safe identity workspaces. The co-creation of EM leadership by leaders and followers would help emergent leaders navigate their leader identity, allowing them to simultaneously inspire confidence and exert influence as future-fit health professionals and leaders.

Teaching, research or balanced? An exploration of the experiences of biomedical scientists working in UK medical schools

Driven by demand for high standards in university education, efforts have been made in the UK to address the perceived imbalance between teaching and research. However, teaching is still perceived by many as having less credibility and is attributed less importance. The purpose of our research was to explore how distinct types of academic job profiles (‘research’ or ‘education’ focused, or ‘balanced’) impact on biomedical scientists' perceptions of the lecturer role. Specifically, we investigated the experiences of biomedical scientists in ‘post‐1990’ medical schools, which are known for their commitment to excellence in both research and education. We conducted 22 face‐to‐face, semi‐structured interviews with biomedical scientists in five schools. Focusing on experiences of work, the interviews covered: ‘motivations’, ‘role expectations’, ‘teaching’, ‘research’ and ‘career’. The recorded qualitative data were transcribed and then analysed thematically. Our results, offering an insight into the working lives of biomedical scientists in medical education, suggest that in settings with a dual emphasis on education and research, individuals on ‘balanced’ contracts can experience a strong pull between research and teaching. In addition to posing significant challenges with respect to workload management, this can impact profoundly on professional identity. In contrast to the balanced role, ‘research’ or ‘education’ focused roles appear to have clearer requirements, leading to higher employee satisfaction. We conclude that to assist the educational mission of Higher Education, attention should be paid to balanced contracts, to (a) ensure employee support, (b) mitigate against negative perceptions of teaching, and ultimately, (c) guard against staff attrition.

Academic mothers, professional identity and COVID-19: Feminist reflections on career cycles, progression and practice

Based on a collection of auto‐ethnographic narratives that reflect our experiences as academic mothers at an Australian university, this paper seeks to illustrate the impact of COVID‐19 on our career cycles in order to explore alternative feminist models of progression and practice in Higher Education. Collectively, we span multiple disciplines, parenting profiles, and racial/ethnic backgrounds. Our narratives (initiated in 2019) explicate four focal points in our careers as a foundation for analyzing self‐definitions of professional identity: pre‐ and post‐maternity career break; and pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19 career. We have modeled this research on a collective feminist research practice that is generative and empowering in terms of self‐reflective models of collaborative research. Considering this practice and these narratives, we argue for a de‐centering of masculinized career cycle patterns and progression pathways both now and beyond COVID‐19. This represents both a challenge to neo‐liberal norms of academic productivity, as well as a call to radically enhance institutional gender equality policies and practice.

"We have to be the link between everyone": A discursive psychology approach to defining registered nurses' professional identity

Background

The occupational health and safety of registered nurses is unsatisfactory, often including high work demands in combination with insufficient acknowledgement. Implicit expectations influence their working conditions, many of which are set by the nurses themselves. Therefore, we aimed to explore how professional identity was discursively constructed by Swedish registered nurses in research interviews about night shift work.

Design and Methods

Ten semi‐structured interviews with registered nurses were analysed using a discursive psychology approach. The Standards for reporting qualitative research guided the reporting.

Results

The professional identity of registered nurses included a theoretical professional aspect as well as a unique experience‐based competence. With their overview and breadth of competence, registered nurses constitute the hub of healthcare activities, also mastering tasks in the fields of other health professions. This opacity of professional boundaries is associated with boundless expectations of the registered nurse. Additionally, the professional identity stipulates always putting the patient's best interests first, and one's own needs second.

Validation of the professional self-identity questionnaire for medical students during clinical practice in Japan

OBJECTIVES

To validate the Professional Self Identity Questionnaire (PSIQ) for medical students during clinical practice.

METHODS

We conducted a single-year longitudinal questionnaire study using the PSIQ. The PSIQ rates the nine items of "teamwork", "communication", "conducting assessment", "cultural awareness", "ethical awareness", "using records", "dealing with emergencies", "reflection", and "teaching" on a scale of 1-7 points. The study participants consisted of 118 fifth- and sixth-grade medical students who completed a mandatory 4-week clinical practice in a community-based medical education (CBME) curriculum. The data were collected before and after the CBME curriculum and after clinical practice at the time of graduation. To validate the internal structure of the PSIQ, we calculated Cronbach's alpha in the three phases. Additionally, to assess construct validity, we analyzed the trends and differences in each of the nine items of the PSIQ using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). We also showed the differences in effect size before and after the CBME curriculum.

RESULTS

The data of 105 medical students were analyzed. Cronbach's alpha in the three phases was 0.932, 0.936, and 0.939, respectively. PSIQ scores increased progressively for all items, and the F-test for repeated measures ANOVA of nine items' average score across the three phases showed a significant difference F_(2,208) = 63.59, p<0.001. The effect size for professional identity of cultural awareness before and after the CBME curriculum was 0.67, or medium.

CONCLUSIONS

We validated the PSIQ for medical students during clinical practice. Reflecting on professional identity may provide an opportunity for meaningful feedback on readiness to become a doctor.

Mediating role of career self-efficacy between clinical learning environment and professional identity in nursing students

AIMS

To explore whether the clinical learning environment (CLE) has an indirect effect on professional identity through the mediation of career self-efficacy (CSE) in nursing students.

BACKGROUND

The shortage of nurses has become a universal problem worldwide. Improving nurses' professional identity is considered an effective way to reduce the turnover rate of nurses. However, little is known about the relationship between the CLE, CSE and professional identity.

DESIGN

An observational, questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A web-based survey was completed by 212 undergraduate nursing students from June to August 2018. Measures included Chinese translations of the CLE, the Career Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Professional Identity Scale.

RESULTS

Both the CLE (r = 0.552, p < 0.01) and CSE (r = 0.868, p < 0.01) correlated positively with professional identity. The indirect effect of the CLE on professional identity through CSE was positive (β = 0.342, p < 0.05) and the effect was 77.2%.

CONCLUSIONS

A better CLE and higher scores in CSE were associated with professional identity in nursing students, and a better CLE had an indirect effect on the professional identity of students through CSE.

A discursive study exploring the professional identities of registered nurses employed in older person residential care settings

BACKGROUND

The phenomenon of an ageing population is being experienced globally requiring the ongoing provision of residential care services. A large number of registered nurses work in these settings; however, many challenges exist in their recruitment and retention.

OBJECTIVES

To explore professional identities and emerging discourses of registered nurses working in older person residential care settings.

METHODS

This study employed a discursive-based research methodology with a central focus on the role language, and discourses play in identity construction. Fourteen in-depth narrative interviews were completed with registered nurses in residential care settings in the Republic of Ireland. Thematic analysis was underpinned by a critical discursive psychology framework.

RESULTS

Four key identities and related discourses emerged: 'skilled professional identity', 'person-centred identity', 'subordinate identity' and 'product of healthcare reform identity'. Discourses presented contrasting professional identities held by nurses in residential care settings; on the one hand, they employed positive professional and person-centred discourses, while on the other hand, tensions associated with healthcare reform and a subordinate identity exist.

CONCLUSIONS

This study presents unique insights into how registered nurses in residential care construct their professional identity and in doing so, enhances opportunities to promote recruitment and marketing in this setting. Equally, the challenges and opportunities of healthcare reform require sensitive management so that the professional identity of nurses working in residential care is enhanced and protected.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

How registered nurses working in residential care settings view their professional identity directly impacts on attitudes and behaviours and the subsequent delivery of care. Greater understanding and insight into how they construct their professional identity may enhance recruitment and retention initiatives. Study results also provide an opportunity for policymakers and service providers to create more positive working environments that promote professional identity development for this nursing group.

Musicians as "Makers in Society": A Conceptual Foundation for Contemporary Professional Higher Music Education

This paper considers the purpose, values and principles underpinning higher music education (HME) as one of the performing arts in a context of turbulent global change. Recognising complex challenges and opportunities in this field, HME is addressed from dual perspectives: educating the next generations of professional musicians, and higher music institutions’ (HMEIs) engagement in society. The paper has a particular focus on the sector within HME that is dedicated to intensive practical craft training for performers, composers, programmers, producers, managers, and teachers. We argue that there is an urgent need for fresh orientating frameworks through which to navigate HME’s development. We examine concepts such as artistic citizenship, social responsibility and civic mission increasingly perceived to be relevant to the sector, and we explore their connexions to concepts of artistic excellence, imagination and creativity, and musical heritage. We identify apparent dichotomies of value within contemporary HME, including between intrinsic and instrumental purpose in the arts, cultural heritage, and new work, artistic imagination and entrepreneurship, and we argue that creative tensions between what have hitherto easily been perceived as opposing concepts or competing priorities need to be embraced. To support our argument we draw on the particular ethnomusicological concept of “musicking,” and we look toward a partnering of artistic and social values in order to enable HME to respond dynamically to societal need, and to continue to engage with the depth and integrity of established musical traditions and their craft. Based on this discussion we propose a conceptual foundation: the “musician as a maker in society,” in which developing vision as a musician in society, underpinned on the one hand by immersion in musical artistry and on the other hand sustained practical experience of connecting and engaging with communities, offers invaluable preparation for and transition into professional life. We propose that this idea, connecting societal and artistic vision and practise, is equally essential for HMEIs as it is for musicians, and sits at the heart of the roles they evolve within their local communities and wider society.

The reproduction of gender differences in early career choices and professional identity of young dentist in Finland

INTRODUCTION

For over the last 20 years, approximately 70% of working dentists in Finland have been women. However, there is internal division of the profession along gender lines. Female dentists work more often in the public sector and male dentists in the private sector. The aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences in young dentists' early career choices, specialization plans, values and perceptions of professional identity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The data were taken from a national e-mail questionnaire study called "Young Dentist," which was sent to 458 dentists who had received their licence to practise dentistry in 2014-2016 from all four universities with dental curricula in Finland. A total of 52% young dentists (n = 238) answered the questionnaire.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results indicated that whereas female dentists were more likely to perceive themselves as comforters, social workers and health promoters, male dentists tended to perceive themselves as technicians. These professional identities were interrelated with early-stage career choices in which female dentists worked more often in the public than in the private sector when compared to male dentists. There were also clear gender differences in the importance of values and the specialization plans of the young dentists.

CONCLUSION

Young dentists in Finland make career choices and develop professional identity in accordance with the attributes traditionally associated with cultural ideals related to femininity and masculinity.

Physicians' cognitive strategies for avoiding overconfidence

BACKGROUND

Physicians' overconfidence damages the quality of medical care. Due to their high social status and intense impact on people lives, physicians need to develop strategies to avoid overconfidence. Yet until now, the strategies physicians use to avoid overconfidence have not been explored. This study aimed to identify strategies physicians use to minimize potential overconfidence.

METHODS

This qualitative study relied on face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Participants were 22 physicians specializing in ophthalmology, gynaecology, rheumatology, cardiology, anaesthesiology, paediatrics, radiology, orthopaedics, otolaryngology, gastroenterology, family and paediatrics. The interviews were analyzed with the grounded theory approach.

RESULTS

Analysis of the interviews revealed three prominent strategies physicians use to minimize overconfidence: awareness of the risks of overconfidence, framing a mundane professional identity, and cultivation of a positive self-view through pride based on effort rather than skills.

CONCLUSIONS

The study demonstrates the on-going nature of establishing physicians' professional identity and implies that it is shaped by a motivation to adapt their identity to fundamental requirements of medical practice. Medical training and education might promote strategies for minimization of potential overconfidence among physicians.

Learning in the library: A national study of youth services public library workers

AIMS

This study aims to interrogate the occupational identity of youth services public library workers across the United States and to understand specifically how this study is related to the learning ecosystem. Public library workers, especially those who work specifically with youth, are underrepresented in academic literature.

METHOD

We adapted an interview method that allows participants to explain how they think different stakeholders perceive their work and used it in a digital survey with 306 youth services public library workers.

RESULTS

Overall, the participants described their work as deeply connected to learning, specifically connecting people to resources, facilitating learning activities, and providing a space for learning. This reflects the evolving nature of public library services.

CONCLUSION

Unfortunately, many library workers feel significant friction between their own understanding of their job and the views of outside stakeholders. We address this friction and its implications in our recommendations for future research and practice.

Exploring the Relationship Between Professional Identity and Psychological Resilience of Organ Donation Coordinators in Zhejiang Province (China)

Background: An organ donation coordinator plays an important role in the process of organ donation and transplant. Therefore, investigating and analyzing the current situation in organ donation and examining the correlation between professional identity and psychological resilience of human organ donation coordinator, provides a reference for promoting stable development of organ donation. Methods: A total of 48 coordinators of organ donation in Zhejiang Province were recruited for the study by using the method of convenience sampling. The psychological resilience scale and professional identity questionnaire were used to collect data. Results: The results revealed that the total average score of the professional identity of organ donation coordinators was 34.92 ± 8.57. Compared with the median professional identity score of 34.50, the professional identity of the coordinator in this survey was at a moderate level. The total average score of psychological resilience was 64.44 ± 11.91. There was a significant positive correlation between the professional identity of the coordinator and the total score of psychological resilience (r = 0.641, P < 0.01). Conclusion: The professional identity and psychological resilience of the coordinators in Zhejiang Province were found to be in the middle level and the higher the psychological resilience score, the stronger the professional identity of the coordinators. It is important to improve the level of psychological resilience among organ donation coordinators to enhance their professional identity.

Does professional identity play a critical role in the choice to remain in the nursing profession?

AIM

To explore aspects of professional identity in nurses' written narratives of what is significant to their choice to remain in the profession.

DESIGN

This study used a qualitative design and was underpinned by a hermeneutical approach.

METHODS

The participants were recruited via purposive sampling procedures and included 13 nurses aged 26 to 62 years. The data were collected in the form of written narratives to initiate the nurses' reflections on the decision to remain in the profession. A thematic analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed two themes: acting as a professional contributor and realigning to maintain professional belongingness. In the nurses' written narratives, these aspects of professional identity were clearly significant to their choice to remain in the profession. In a complexly interwoven way, the aspects constructed who the nurses were as professionals, and thus, professional identity seems to play a critical role in the choice to remain.

Stigmatization in nursing: Theoretical pathways and implications

Stigmatization of patients exists in nursing and results in less than optimal nursing care and poor patient outcomes. It is also a violation of our code of ethics. In order to eliminate stigmatization from nursing practice, it is necessary to understand how it develops. Two possible theoretical pathways are proposed to explain the development of stigmatization in nursing. These pathways are informed by a conceptual understanding of stigma and theories of professional socialization, professional formation, symbolic interactionism, and social cognitive theory. Re-labeling and role-taking and moral disengagement are proposed as two possible processes that may lead to stigmatization of patients. Both proposed pathways have implications on professional socialization, formation, and the development of professional identity. Devoting attention to and reframing normative behavioral expectations, eliminating labeling, developing empathy, focusing on relationships, and cultivating ethical comportment and moral maturity during nursing formation may reduce the stigmatization of patients by nurses.

To Volunteer or Not? Perspectives towards Pre-Registered Nursing Students Volunteering Frontline during COVID-19 Pandemic to Ease Healthcare Workforce: A Qualitative Study

COVID-19 has caused a shortage of healthcare workers and has strained healthcare systems globally. Pre-registered healthcare students with training have a duty of care and can support the healthcare workforce. This study explored factors influencing the willingness of final-year nursing students to volunteer during the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of professional identity in volunteering as healthcare workers, and strategies to improve future volunteering uptakes and processes. A qualitative study using focus-group discussions was conducted. Final-year nursing students who volunteered, students who did not volunteer, and lecturers who supervised student volunteers were recruited. Interviews were conducted online, video-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. A thematic analysis was used. The themes were “wavering thoughts on volunteering”, “bringing out ‘the nurse’ in students through volunteering” and “gearing up to volunteer”. Findings suggested the need to look beyond the simplicity of altruism to the role of professional identity, operational, and motivational factors to explain nursing students’ decision to volunteer and their volunteer behavior. Providing accommodation, monetary and academic-related incentives, supporting the transitionary phase from students to “professional volunteers”, promoting cohesive and positive staff–student volunteer relationships, and establishing a volunteer management team are strategies identified to improve volunteering uptake and operational processes. Our findings advocate strategic partnerships between hospitals/communities and academic institutions in providing various healthcare services during pandemics.

Developing a Professionalism Manual for Nurse Managers to Improve Their Perception Regarding Professionalism and Professional Identity

Background

Developing a professional identity is rooted in the dimensions of professionalism and professional development. Moreover, the need for teaching professionalism has a mutual relationship with the formation of a desirable professional identity.

Aim

The current study aimed at developing a professionalism manual for the nurse managers to improve their perception regarding professionalism and professional identity.

Design

Quasi-experimental research design with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up was used.

Setting

The study was conducted at two different hospitals; Menoufia University hospital and Al-helal Insurance hospital, Menoufia Governorate, Egypt.

Subjects

The participants included all nurse managers at different levels from the two different hospitals (n =100).

Tools:tool 1: Professionalism Questionnaire and tool 2: Professional Identity Assessment Questionnaire were used to collect data.

Results

there was a statistically significant improvement in professionalism perception and professional identity level immediately after administering the professionalism manual and after three months in the follow-up phase than the pre-test phase. Additionally, there was a statistically significant positive correlation between two variables of the study at the post and follow-up phases, but not significant at the pre-test phase.

Conclusion

the professionalism manual was effective in improving nurse managers’ perceptions regarding professionalism and professional identity.

Recommendations: Incorporate the attributes of professionalism that were included in the professionalism manual as a guide for the performance review processes of nurses.

The status quo of the occupational identity of the basic-level health technicians in Qiqihar City: an investigation and analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the occupational identity of primary health technicians in Qiqihar City and to analyze its influencing factors.

METHODS

From September 2020 to October 2020, 436 primary health technicians were selected from the primary health centers in Qiqihar City using the convenience sampling method. After eight invalid questionnaires were excluded, the total number cases was 428. The questionnaires were used to conduct surveys and perform a data analysis.

RESULTS

In Qiqihar City, the primary health technicians are densely distributed among community hospitals, township hospitals, and village clinics. The personnel include general practitioners, specialists, medical technicians, Chinese medicine practitioners, and nurses. The occupational identity of the basic-level health technicians in Qiqihar is at a medium level. The total job stressor scores among the primary health technical personnel in Qiqihar City and the total satisfaction scores are at the moderate level. The scores and total scores of each dimension of the job stressor scale were negatively correlated with the occupational identity scores (P<0.01). The scores and total scores of each dimension on the satisfaction scale demonstrated a positive correlation with the total professional identity scores (P<0.01). A very notable difference was found in the ages and years of work experience in the occupational identity scores in our univariate analysis (P<0.05). Our multiple linear regression analysis revealed that years of work experience, work pressure, and job satisfaction are the influencing factors of the status quo of the occupational identity of the basic-level health technicians (P<0.01).

CONCLUSION

Years of work experience, work pressure, and the job satisfaction of primary health technicians are the influencing factors of their professional identity. Thus, strengthening humanistic care and communication, alleviating the psychological pressure of basic-level health technicians, rationalizing the work tasks, and providing more training and learning opportunities remain urgent tasks for boosting the professional identity of basic-level health technicians.

Professional Identity of Male Nursing Students in 3-Year Colleges and Junior Male Nurses in China

Purpose:

To investigate the changing tendency and influencing factors of the professional identity of male nursing students in 3-year colleges and junior male nurses in China.

Background:

In China, the majority of nurses are 3-year nursing college graduates, among which male nurses are underrepresented. Many male nurses leave the profession 3 or 4 years after graduation. Little is known about the professional identity of Chinese male nursing students in 3-year colleges and junior male nurses.

Methods:

This study included 237 male nursing students from a 3-year college and 33 junior male nurses with less than 3 years of experience in China. By using the data collected with the Professional Identity Questionnaire of Nursing Students and through in-depth semistructured interviews from November 2019 to April 2020, t-test, and ANOVA analysis in SPSS22.0 were conducted and thematic analysis was applied to interviews.

Results:

Compared with undergraduate nursing students, Chinese male nursing students in 3-year colleges had a better professional identity, displaying a declining tendency with grades. Junior male nurses reported the lowest professional identity. Demographic factors such as family residence and presence of relatives in medical service were positively related to professional identity. Low professional identity was related to heavy workload as well as gender stereotypes. Two unique contextual factors influenced the professional identity: (a) curriculum setting and (b) nurse exams.

Conclusion:

College education and initial working experience were critical to professional identity formation for male nurses. Appropriate measures need to be taken to improve professional identity and promote gender diversity.

Factors That Influence Perceived Organizational Support for Emotional Labor of Chinese Medical Personnel in Hubei

At the outbreak of coronavirus disease in Wuhan, China, 42,322 medical personnel from other provinces and municipalities in China volunteered to rush to Hubei to assist their colleagues. Their all-out efforts contributed to Hubei finally winning the fight to prevent and control the pandemic. The aim of this study is to explore the influence of perceived organizational support on the emotional labor of medical personnel in Hubei Province. A group of 170 medical personnel from (tertiary) hospitals who participated in the pandemic aid operation in Hubei completed self-administered questionnaires, including the perceived organizational support scale, emotional labor scale, and professional identity scale. This study used Pearson's correlation in SPSS to analyze the three variables of organizational support, emotional labor, and professional identity. Organizational support and emotional labor (r = 0.443, P < 0.01), organizational support and professional identity (r = 0.631, P < 0.01), and emotional labor and occupational identity (r = 0.511, P < 0.01) showed a significant positive correlation. The bootstrapping mediating effect test was used to determine the overall mediating effect of occupational identity. Occupational identity was a complete mediating effect between organizational support and emotional labor. The results show that a strong sense of organizational support can promote higher emotional labor among medical workers in Hubei Province. A strong sense of organizational support will also promote a stronger professional identity; further, a strong professional identity completely mediates the effect of perceived organizational support on emotional labor. These results infer that in emergency medical and health services, medical personnel can realize a high sense of organizational support, which could enhance their professional identity; this enables them to combine their professional goals with organizational goals more actively and to finally pay higher emotional labor to achieve organizational goals.

'Reluctant pioneer': A qualitative study of doctors' experiences as patients with long COVID

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had far-reaching effects upon lives, healthcare systems and society. Some who had an apparently 'mild' COVID-19 infection continue to suffer from persistent symptoms, including chest pain, breathlessness, fatigue, cognitive impairment, paraesthesia, muscle and joint pains. This has been labelled 'long COVID'. This paper reports the experiences of doctors with long COVID.

METHODS

A qualitative study; interviews with doctors experiencing persistent symptoms were conducted by telephone or video call. Interviews were transcribed and analysis conducted using an inductive and thematic approach.

RESULTS

Thirteen doctors participated. The following themes are reported: making sense of symptoms, feeling let down, using medical knowledge and connections, wanting to help and be helped, combining patient and professional identity. Experiencing long COVID can be transformative: many expressed hope that good would come of their experiences. Distress related to feelings of being 'let down' and the hard work of trying to access care. Participants highlighted that they felt better able to care for, and empathize with, patients with chronic conditions, particularly where symptoms are unexplained.

CONCLUSIONS

The study adds to the literature on the experiences of doctors as patients, in particular where evidence is emerging and the patient has to take the lead in finding solutions to their problems and accessing their own care.

PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

The study was developed with experts by experience (including co-authors HA and TAB) who contributed to the protocol and ethics application, and commented on analysis and implications. All participants were given the opportunity to comment on findings.

How pharmacists perceive their professional identity: a scoping review and discursive analysis

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this scoping review were to (a) explore how pharmacists perceive their professional roles and identities and (b) describe factors impacting which professional roles or identities pharmacists embody in different pharmacy practice settings.

METHODS

A scoping review using a deductive approach was undertaken for this study. Systematic searches were conducted in five databases: Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Ovid PsycINFO, EBSCO Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health and Scopus (Elsevier). Key words searched included pharmacist, identity, professional role and one variations of these. Results were double-blind screened for relevance by two authors. Data extraction was facilitated by the web-based software platform COVIDENCE. Foucauldian critical discourse analysis was used to deconstruct how pharmacists perceive their professional roles and identities.

KEY FINDINGS

In total, 21 701 articles were retrieved in the search. Following de-duplication and screening, 23 studies from 11 different countries were included. Five major identity themes were identified: Clinician, Dispenser, Business Person, Patient Counsellor and Physician Supporter. The dispenser identity was the most widespread, but it was viewed by many pharmacists as undesirable. The clinician identity also had a strong presence but was viewed as an identity that pharmacists aspire to embody.

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review illustrates that pharmacists do not uniformly perceive themselves to be clinicians. A significant gap exists between the profession's desired identity and that embodied by practicing pharmacists. The resulting dissonance may be a contributing factor to the lack of wide-scale practice change that the profession has been seeking for decades.

Supporting Biomedical Research Training for Historically Underrepresented Undergraduates Using Interprofessional, Nonformal Education Structures

Research experience provides critical training for new biomedical research scientists. Students from underrepresented populations studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are increasingly recruited into research pathways to diversify STEM fields. However, support structures outside of research settings designed to help these students navigate biomedical research pathways are not always available; nor are program support components outside the context of laboratory technical skills training and formal mentorship well understood. This study leveraged a multi-institutional research training program, Enhancing Cross-Disciplinary Infrastructure and Training at Oregon (EXITO), to explore how nine institutions designed a new curricular structure (Enrichment) to meet a common goal of enhancing undergraduate research training and student success. EXITO undergraduates participated in a comprehensive, 3-year research training program with the Enrichment component offered across nine sites: three universities and six community colleges, highly diverse in size, demographics, and location. Sites' approaches to supporting students in the training program were studied over a 30-month period. All sites independently created their own nonformal curricular structures, implemented interprofessionally via facilitated peer groups. Site data describing design and implementation were thematically coded to identify essential programmatic components across sites, with student feedback used to triangulate findings. Enrichment offered students time to critically reflect on their interests, experiences, and identities in research; network with peers and professionals; and support negotiation of hidden and implicit curricula. Students reported the low-pressure setting and student-centered curriculum balanced the high demands associated with academics and research. Core curricular themes described Enrichment as fostering a sense of community among students, exposing students to career paths and skills, and supporting development of students' professional identities. The non-formal, interprofessional curricula enabled students to model diverse biomedical identities and pathways for each other while informing institutional structures to improve diverse undergraduate students' success in academia and research.

Relationships of organisational justice, psychological capital and professional identity with job burnout among Chinese nurses: A cross-sectional study

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The present study was aimed at describing the status of job burnout and exploring the mediating roles of psychological capital and professional identity on the association between organisational justice and job burnout.

BACKGROUND

With the shortage of nurses all over the world, nurses' job burnout has become the focus of studies in recent years. However, limited published research has examined the mediating roles of psychological capital and professional identity on the association between organisational justice and job burnout within hospital contexts in China.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional design.

METHODS

A total of 1,009 nurses were enrolled from a major general hospital located in Qiqihar City in the northeast of China from March-July 2018, and asked to complete questionnaires regarding organisational justice, psychological capital, professional identity and job burnout. The STROBE checklist was adhered to in this study.

RESULTS

It was observed that the overall proportion of nurses with job burnout was 58.8%. All the correlations among organisational justice, psychological capital, professional identity and job burnout were statistically significant, with coefficients ranging between -0.487-0.863. Psychological capital and professional identity had indirect effects equal to -0.072 and -0.142, respectively, on the association between organisational justice and job burnout, taking up 13.7% and 26.9% of the total effect, respectively. The serial indirect effect of psychological capital and professional identity was -0.129, accounting for 24.5% of the total effect.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed the necessity of addressing the status of job burnout among Chinese nurses. Psychological capital and professional identity may mediate the linkage between organisational justice and job burnout independently and accumulatively.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Nursing managers should strengthen organisational justice and improve the psychological capital and professional identity of nurses through effective strategies to prevent the job burnout of nurses.

[From student to nursing professional]

Clémence, Laura and Mathilde are graduates of the nursing training institute of Neuilly-sur-Marne (93) since July 2020. Approximately six months after taking up their position in the hospital sector, they share their thoughts and relate their first steps in the practice of this nursing profession which they have all three fully chosen.

[A discipline-specific perspective for advanced practice]

While being integrated into a public health policy which is extending their role, advanced practice nurses should operate within a discipline-specific approach, which takes account of their professional identity and ensures their added value for the health care system. Conceptual models of nursing care and other nursing theories are there to guide their practice and enable them to stay focused on their specific discipline.

Clinical teaching behaviour effects professional identity and transition shock in new nurses in western china: A cross-sectional study

Aim

To examine the interrelationship between professional identity, clinical teaching behaviour and transition shock for new nurses in Western China.

Design

A cross‐sectional design.

Methods

A total of 779 new nurses were recruited in Gansu province and Lanzhou city from June to July 2019. Each patient was given three questionnaires to complete, and structural equation modelling was used to identify the relationships.

Results

The overall mean scores for the transition shock, professional identity and clinical teaching behaviour were 92.53(SD = 22.17), 89.74(SD = 16.57) 80.12(SD = 12.38), respectively. The most important aspects identified were the Physical aspect, the Sense of Mastery and Committing to Teaching. Professional identity and clinical teaching behaviour were negatively related to transition shock, a better sense of identity coupled with supportive clinical teaching were keys to a smoother journey from new to experienced nurses.

Do critical incidents lead to critical reflection among medical students?

Context

Medical students are exposed during their training to a wide range of experiences and behaviors that can affect their learning regarding professionalism and their behavior and attitudes towards patient-centered care. The aim of the study is to explore learning associated with critical incidents and levels of critical reflection among medical students.

Approach

Medical students' were invited to narrate a critical incident and reflect on the learning associated with it. All students' narratives were audio-recorded and analyzed thematically. Mezirow's theory of transformative learning was used to analyze the level of reflection reached in students' narratives.

Findings

For the present analysis critical incidents narrated by 70 clinical students (4th-6th year) were included. Fifty-two of them were females. Students' experiences are derived from three types of interactions: observed interactions between doctors and patients, personal interactions between students and patients, and interactions between doctors and students. Reflections deriving from the experiences included: behaving to patients as humans not as cases, emotional aspects of care, doctors as role models, skills needed when working under pressure, 'tasting' the real profession, emotional management, the importance of communication skills, teaching qualities of doctors, becoming a doctor, and reflections of future practice. Analyzing the actual level of reflection indicated that only 32 (45.7%) students were categorized as reflectors.

Conclusions

Student interactions with doctors and patients provide insights about; the daily experience of being a doctor, the most common challenges, what qualities are necessary for being a doctor and what do they need to develop their professional identity. However, it is noteworthy that while the majority of students shared a critical incident crucial to their professional development, there is little evidence of critical reflection.

Moral distress: A theorized model of influences to facilitate mitigation and resilience

Moral distress results from the threat to professional moral integrity and identity. This phenomenon is well documented in nursing literature. Persistent and unresolved moral distress is frequently linked to high nursing staff turnover and shortages. Engagement in a structured hermeneutic critical reflective process facilitated identification of micro, meso, and macro factors influencing the experience of moral distress. Following this process, a theorized model was developed to illustrate interactions between influences contributing to the experience of moral distress in nurses. The model highlights where opportunities lay to take action to avoid or minimize the negative consequences of this phenomenon. Professional resilience is achieved via the conscientious development of professional identity and practice of critical reflection, as components of enculturation of nurses into the profession. Undergraduate and further nurse education activities must focus on developing the necessary attitude, confidence, and skills to address issues in practice which contribute to the experience moral distress to build resilience.

Professional identity of Wuhan and Hong Kong social workers: COVID-19 challenges and implications

This reflexive essay focus on how COVID-19 has impacted the professional identity of social workers in Wuhan and Hong Kong. Exploratory and reflexive in nature, eight Wuhan social workers who comprised three males and five females, and seven Hong Kong social workers who comprised one male and six females were recruited for semi-structured interviews. Their experience in Wuhan and Hong Kong during COVID-19 were highlighted. The challenges to professional identity were analyzed and the reflection is categorized into four levels, namely, individual, community, educational and conceptual level. In sum, Wuhan interviewees were more struggled with educating the public on the difference between community work, volunteering and social work, especially at the hospitals, to protect the integrity of the social work profession which shows their commitment to their professional identity. Moreover, they found it difficult to position themselves in proactive online services, where hundreds of workers from different parts of the Mainland China would be involved. On the other hand, Hong Kong interviewees were more inclined to prioritize professional principles at levels that are even higher than those in standardized guidelines. Their goal is to take the best interests of their clients into consideration, and their self-reflections tend to focus more on professional judgement and development of the social work field, to pave the way for future enhancements. Finally yet importantly, the deficiencies of their education as evidenced by the pandemic have been made alarmingly explicit.

Education Satisfaction among Pharmacy Graduates in Sweden

Education satisfaction is considered important for development of a professional identity and to increase learning. The aim was to investigate and compare education satisfaction over time among pharmacists who have graduated from the pharmacy programs at Umeå University, Sweden. Data concerning education satisfaction were collected using an alumni survey of pharmacists who graduated between 2015 and 2018. This was compared with pharmacists graduating between 2006 and 2014. The majority of the pharmacy graduates were very satisfied with their education (96%) and thought that the programs gave them a clear professional identity (92%). No differences in education satisfaction between graduation years 2015 and 2018 and 2006 and 2014 were found. A majority of the graduates considered that the knowledge and skills acquired during their education were useful in their present job (83%). Of the graduates who thought that the studies gave them a clear professional identity, a higher proportion were satisfied with their job (p < 0.001) and thought that their work duties reflected their studies (p = 0.005). Exploring education satisfaction may help educators to further develop the education and to better prepare the students for their professional working life.

What does it take to become a neurosurgeon? A mixed methods cross-sectional analysis of professional identity formation amongst neurosurgical trainees

INTRODUCTION

The concept of professional identity (as distinct from technical skills development), and how it can be cultivated by trainees in neurosurgical training has not been explored before.

AIMS

This study aimed to assess neurosurgical trainees' perceptions of professional identity, how it develops and how it might be enhanced during the course of training.

METHODS

A mixed methods cross-sectional analysis was conducted consisting of semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a small group of neurosurgical trainees to qualitatively identify common themes around professional identity. These themes were then quantitatively analysed via a national on-line questionnaire survey amongst the wider United Kingdom neurosurgical trainee cohort.

RESULTS

Interviewed participants were fiveteen British neurosurgical trainees spanning across junior (n = 5), intermediate (n = 5) and senior (n = 5) levels of training at two University teaching hospitals representing high-volume tertiary centres for Neurosurgery in the United Kingdom. The on-line questionnaire survey returned complete responses by 80 trainees (30% response rate). These data demonstrated that at different stages of training, neurosurgical trainees self-identified differently, and engaged in different practices to develop their identity. However, all trainees irrespective of level appeared to perceive a common set of qualities that define the identity of a fully-fledged neurosurgeon.

CONCLUSION

A model has been constructed that describes professional identity formation amongst neurosurgical trainees at different stages of training, and how these feed into an aspired core identity profile of a Neurosurgeon. Based on this model, suggestions have been made to potentially improve professional identity formation amongst neurosurgical trainees.

Supporting a teacher identity in health professions education: AMEE Guide No. 132

This guide provides an understanding of what teacher identity is and how it can be developed and supported. Developing a strong teacher identity in the context of health professions education is challenging, because teachers combine multiple roles and the environment usually is more supportive to the identity of health practitioner or researcher than to that of teacher. This causes tensions for those with a teaching role. However, a strong teacher identity is important because it enhances teachers' intention to stay in health professions education, their willingness to invest in faculty development, and their enjoyment of the teaching role. The guide offers recommendations on how to establish workplace environments that support teacher identity rather than marginalise it. Additionally, the guide offers recommendations for establishing faculty development approaches that are sensitive to teacher identity issues. Finally, the guide provides suggestions for individual teachers in relation to what they can do themselves to nurture it.

Genitalia-related nursing embarrassment and its associated factors among female nurses in mainland China: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Background

Genital-related care is a common nursing procedure and may cause embarrassment for nurses. However, nurses’ level of embarrassment and the factors associated with embarrassment have been scarcely studied. Therefore, a cross-sectional study was conducted to investigate genitalia-related care’s embarrassment and its associated factors among Chinese female nurses.

Methods

Online questionnaires regarding the frequency of genitalia-related care and the embarrassment level were distributed to female nurses from the gynecology and urology departments between October and December 2019. Participants also completed the Chinese version of the professional identity scale for nurses and the Jefferson scale of empathy. Mantel-Haenszel chi-square and ordinal logistic regression were used to explore factors associated with the level of embarrassment.

Results

In total, 648 female nurses from 54 hospitals in 31 cities in China were recruited. Among these respondents, approximately 67% provided genitalia-related care at least three days per week, and about 70% of nurses felt slightly embarrassed to extremely embarrassed when providing genitalia-related care. Compared to nurses from gynecology departments, nurses from urology departments felt more embarrassed during genitalia-related care (P<0.001). Ordinal regression analysis showed that the odds of nurses from gynecology and urology departments with total empathy scores greater than 100 experiencing higher levels of embarrassment than nurses with total empathy scores less than 100 were 0.47 and 0.45, respectively. Nurses from gynecology departments with higher professional identity scores, higher education levels, more frequent genital-related care experienced less embarrassment, while nurses from the urology department with prior sexual experience experienced less embarrassment.

Conclusions

Feeling embarrassed during genitalia-related nursing was common among Chinese female nurses, especially those from urology departments. Embarrassment during genitalia-related nursing was related to professional identity, empathy, educational level, genitalia-related care frequency, and sexual history. These findings highlight the importance of professional identity, empathy, and education among nurses.

Relationships of professional identity and psychological reward satisfaction with subjective well-being among Chinese nurses

AIM

This study aimed at exploring the impact of professional identity and psychological reward satisfaction on subjective well-being and clarifying the effect of psychological reward satisfaction on this relationship.

BACKGROUND

People know little about the effect of psychological reward satisfaction on the relationship between professional identity and subjective well-being.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was carried out on 1,009 nurses from Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province of China. Professional Identity Scale, Psychological Reward Satisfaction Scale and General Well-Being Schedule were used to assess professional identity, psychological reward satisfaction and subjective well-being, respectively. Associations were explored by using structural equation modelling.

RESULTS

The subjective well-being of 436 (43.2%) nurses was at low and moderate levels. After the adjustment of potential confounding factors, professional identity was still associated with subjective well-being (B = 3.035, β = 0.215, p < .001). Professional identity (r = .308) and psychological reward satisfaction (r = .309) were positively correlated with subjective well-being. Psychological reward satisfaction mediated the association between professional identity and subjective well-being (effect = 0.114, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

This study suggested that the subjective well-being of nurses should be improved by paying special attention to them and taking targeted support measures.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

Nursing managers can help enhance the professional identity of nurses by organising nursing education activities, and pay more attention to psychological reward satisfaction to improve the subjective well-being of nurses.

EXAMINING THE GENDER GAP IN ENGINEERING PROFESSIONAL IDENTIFICATION

Attracting women to the engineering profession has been a topic of ongoing discussion and examination. In light of perceptions of what it means to be an engineer, both male and female students are navigating and aligning their future career goals based on their understandings of engineering as a profession. This study examines 1) the extent to which there are gender differences in affinity toward elements of professional practice (framing and solving problems, tinkering, collaboration, analysis, design, and project management), and 2) whether gender differences in affinity toward these practices contribute to the gender gap in engineering professional identification. Survey data was collected from 2,256 undergraduate engineering students in three majors at one large public institution. Results show significant gender differences in affinities toward five of the six professional practices considered. Additionally, multivariate regression analyses revealed that the gender gap in engineering professional identification is partially explained by differences in these affinities toward engineering professional practices. Further analyses also revealed that affinity toward framing and solving problems was a stronger predictor of engineering professional identification for female students than for male students. Implications of the results are discussed.

'You're just a locum': professional identity and temporary workers in the medical profession

Internationally, there has been substantial growth in temporary working, including in the medical profession where temporary doctors are known as locums. There is little research into the implications of temporary work in health care. In this paper, we draw upon theories concerning the sociology of the medical profession to examine the implications of locum working for the medical profession, healthcare organisations and patient safety. We focus particularly on the role of organisations in professional governance and the positioning of locums as peripheral to or outside the organisation, and the influence of intergroup relationships (in this case between permanent and locum doctors) on professional identity. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted between 2015 and 2017 in England with 79 participants including locum doctors, locum agency staff, and representatives of healthcare organisations who use locums. An abductive approach to analysis combined inductive coding with deductive, theory-driven interpretation. Our findings suggest that locums were perceived to be inferior to permanently employed doctors in terms of quality, competency and safety and were often stigmatised, marginalised and excluded. The treatment of locums may have negative implications for collegiality, professional identity, group relations, team functioning and the way organisations deploy and treat locums may have important consequences for patient safety.

[Becoming a nurse: from common training to specific practices]

How does the process of socialisation work for student nurses? Practice placements play a key role in the construction of a professional identity. This identity involves more than simply gaining knowledge and mastering techniques. It consists in transforming the way the activity is envisaged and the meaning given to it.

Serial Multiple Mediation of Professional Identity, and Psychological Capital in the Relationship Between Work-Related Stress and Work-Related Well-Being of ICU Nurses in China: A Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Survey

This study aimed to investigate the serial-multiple mediation effect of professional identity, psychological capital (PsyCap), work-related stress, and work-related wellbeing among intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in China. The cross-sectional survey was conducted from January 2017 to May 2017 in two Grade III A general hospitals (with more than 2000 beds) in Jining, Shandong Province, China. Cluster sampling was used to recruit participants from the two hospitals. A total of 330 ICU nurses participated in the study. The nurses’ work stress scale, Chinese nurse’s professional identity scale, the PsyCap questionnaire, and Chinese work-related wellbeing scale were used to collect the data. Descriptive analysis, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation analysis, linear regression analysis, and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data (P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant). The average score for the work-related wellbeing of ICU nurses was 85.91 ± 13.94. Work-related stress, professional identity, and PsyCap correlated significantly with work-related wellbeing. The major predictors of work-related wellbeing were PsyCap, work-related stress, professional identity, and monthly salary. The serial-multiple mediation effects of professional identity and PsyCap in the relationship between work-related stress and work-related wellbeing were statistically significant. Positive professional identity and PsyCap were sequentially associated with decreased work-related stress, which in turn was related to increased work-related wellbeing among ICU nurses. Therefore, this study aims to explore the impact of ICU nurses’ work-related stress on work-related wellbeing, as well as the mediating effect of professional identity and PsyCap. It is hoped that hospital care managers will pay attention to the mental health of ICU nurses, increase their professional identity, and reduce work-related stress to improve the quality of the ICU nursing service and stabilize nursing work.

Are You Tired of Working amid the Pandemic? The Role of Professional Identity and Job Satisfaction against Job Burnout

With the outbreak of novel coronavirus in 2019, most universities changed from traditional offline teaching to online teaching, which brought about a large amount of problems, including teachers' physical and mental problems. Because of teaching on the computer screen for a long period of time, the teacher lacks communication and can act casually. With long-term accumulation, the problem of teachers' job burnout has become increasingly serious. The main purpose of this study was to examine the influence of professional identity on job burnout during the period of the novel coronavirus. At the same time, this study also discussed the moderating effect of job satisfaction on professional identity and job burnout, and its relationship between job satisfaction and job burnout. During the peak period of the COVID-19 epidemic, we conducted an online survey-483 Chinese university teachers with online teaching experience completed the Teacher Professional Identity Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, and Job Burnout Scale. The results of this study found professional identity and job satisfaction of university teachers to be significantly negative predictors of job burnout, with job satisfaction playing a moderating role between professional identity and job burnout. This study also confirmed that professional identity and job satisfaction are important factors affecting job burnout of university teachers. Therefore, this study proposed that schools should adopt more effective strategies to improve university teachers' professional identity and job satisfaction in order to reduce the practical problems of job burnout, ensure the effectiveness of online teaching, and maintain the sustainable development during the epidemic.

Understanding the dimensions of a strong-professional identity: a study of faculty developers in medical education

BACKGROUND

Faculty developers are regularly involved in training medical educators to enhance their teaching excellence through workshops and other formats. By exemplifying professional and institutional values, faculty developers may profoundly impact how other educators perceive their own professional identity.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to understand how the professional identity of faculty developers is formed.

DESIGN

A qualitative approach was used, with a semi-structured interview. The sample consisted of 10 medical educators. A deductive thematic analysis based on Bolivar et al. (2004a) model of professional identity formation for medical educators was carried out.

RESULTS

Self-image was impacted favorably through social recognition from students and peers, and the belief of having demonstrated professional competence through job assignments and enrollment in different leadership positions. The social relations to the center or department in which the faculty developer participates were strongly related to job satisfaction. Expectations about the future of the profession included positive attitudes toward change brought by generational differences. Regarding the process of construction of professional identity, life stories and dissimilar professional careers converge in the same educational setting. Faculty developers regularly resort to self-reflection, with a desire to continue learning and developing. They are resilient and purposeful, even in negative experiences that they have faced as identity crises. They share an awareness in building a legacy for the patients, their families, and the community through nurturing new generations of health-care practitioners.

CONCLUSIONS

The interviewed faculty developers have a strong-professional identity that is characterized by a stable sense of self, strong behavioral repertoire, and key associations with a community of practice.

A Surgical Instructor Training Course for the Next Generation

In 2016, Gunma University Hospital's Medical Accident Investigation Committee released a report reiterating the necessity of medical education and the need for surgeons to master non-technical skills. We designed a 17-h training course for surgical instructors, designed to teach participants how to sufficiently educate surgeon trainees and encourage their professional identity formation. A post-training survey showed that participants improved their awareness, and their behavioral changes led to favorable team performances. We then began offering a 3-h workshop focusing on the participants' experiences. We propose that the training course using participant narratives is required and effective to establish surgeons' self-reflection and professional identity as surgeons.

A Model of Queer STEM Identity in the Workplace

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are often stereotyped as spaces in which personal identity is subsumed in the pursuit of a single-minded focus on objective scientific truths, and correspondingly rigid expectations of gender and sexuality are widespread. This paper describes findings from a grounded theory inquiry of how queer individuals working in STEM fields develop and navigate personal and professional identities. Through our analysis, we identified three distinct but related processes of Defining a queer gender and/or sexual identity, Forming an identity as a STEM professional, and Navigating identities at work. We found that heteronormative assumptions frequently silence conversations about gender and sexuality in STEM workplaces and result in complicated negotiations of self for queer professionals. This analysis of the personal accounts of queer students, faculty, and staff in STEM reveals unique processes of identity negotiation and elucidates how different social positioning creates challenges and opportunities for inclusivity.

Professional identity and its work-related factors among psychiatric nurses: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the level of professional identity among psychiatric nurses and to explore what work-related factors may affect their professional identity.

METHODS

Four hundred and twelve nurses were investigated. Two self-report questionnaires were used: (a) Nursing Professional Identity Scale (NPIS, range: 30 ~ 150); and (b) Practice Environment Scale of Nursing Work (PESNW, range: 0 ~ 100) with six dimensions: nursing-related hospital affairs, high-quality nursing care, ability of nursing manager, manpower and material resources, cooperation between nurses and doctors, and salary and social status. Higher scores indicated higher professional identities and better work environments.

RESULTS

Three hundred and ninety-one of the participants completed the questionnaires and were analyzed. The mean age of the participants was 32.53 years, and 93.3% of them were female. The mean score of NPIS was 100.03 (SD: 17.44). Multiple linear regression showed that professional identity was significantly and positively associated with two dimensions of PESNW: salary and social status and ability of nursing manager.

CONCLUSIONS

Professional identity among psychiatric nurses was at a moderate level. Salary and social status and ability of nursing manager positively contributed to their professional identity. These results may indicate the directors to construct better work environments for psychiatric nursing to improve professional identity.