93 - Evaluating Professional Identity Formation Amongst Health Professional Students Globally

Poster Board Number: 93
There are separate poster presentation times for odd and even posters.
Odd poster #s – first hour
Even poster #s – second hour

Abstract Body : Objective: To analyze if differences exist in professional identity formation amongst health professional students around the world.

Background: Professional identity can be defined as a set of beliefs, values, and attitudes that one develops about his or her professional role through the journey from student to healthcare provider. Its formation is a crucial part of the growth and development that transpires during healthcare training. However, research comparing professional identity formation amongst healthcare professionals, globally, is limited.

Methods: Health professional students (medical, dental, public health, premedical, and biomedical sciences; n=350) from six major international universities in four geographic regions participated in an online student networking exchange program. Participants were asked to complete a previously validated Professional Self Identity Questionnaire for the Health and Social Care Professions (PSIQ) prior to the start of the program. Each of the nine questions tested a different aspect of professional identity (teamwork, communication, conducting assessment, cultural awareness, ethical awareness, using records, dealing with emergencies, reflection, teaching). Demographic data were also collected. Statistical analyses were conducted using R version 4.2.2

Results: To date, 108 students have completed the PSIQ. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) on the mean score of all questions detected a statistically significant difference in professional identity amongst universities (P=0.0208). Unpaired t-tests comparing the mean scores of all questions for each university to the combined mean of the other five universities showed statistically significantly higher and lower professional identity scores for University of Paris (P=0.0235) and National Taiwan University (P=0.0093), respectively. In comparing universities for each question, a one-way ANOVA found statistically significant differences amongst four of the nine questions involving the following themes: teamwork (P=0.0297), communication (P=0.0070), conducting assessment (P=0.0218), and utilizing records (P=0.0099). In further post-hoc analyses, the University of Paris had a higher level of professional identity regarding the themes of teamwork (P=0.0293), communication (P=0.0346), conducting assessment (P=0.0321), and using records (P=0.0438) in comparison to other universities.

Conclusion: Amongst health professional students, globally, students from different universities show significant differences in professional self-identity scores. Understanding these differences may provide clues to help in the design of curricula that focus on professional identity formation.