Perceptions of Professional Identity Among Iranian Medical Students and Graduates

Professional identity consists of beliefs and values with multiple components. These components are influenced by experiences, family upbringing, and the governing culture. This study aims to survey the experiences of Iranian medical students and graduates regarding their perception of professional identity.

This is a phenomenological study using Colaizzi’s approach and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 master students and graduates in medical education (males and females with a mean age of 32 years) from medical universities in Iran (Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, and Ministry of Health and Medical Education). Lincoln and Guba (1994)’s criteria were used to achieve trustworthiness.

The analysis of the interviews led to the extraction of two main themes and four subthemes. The main themes were fixed professional identity (professor’s role modeling, effective curriculum content, academic-personality development) and distorted professional identity (unfavorable academic and professional experiences)

The Iranian medical students and graduates experience their professional identity during their studies and career in two fixed and distorted forms, among which the fixed form is experienced more, where professors’ role modeling and adherence to professional ethics are the most effective factors