Impact of a Professional Identity Formation Program on Student Perceptions

In response to the call for reform in professional identity formation (PIF) (O’Brien & Irby, 2013), the University of Utah pioneered a program called RealMD which utilizes coaching and group self-discovery activities to encourage purpose and community in preparation for students’ future medical careers (Cruess, Cruess, Boudreau, Snell, & Steinert, 2014). The program focuses on 15 attitudes/skills central to identity development (Tsai, Moniz, Davis, & Chang, 2017). In this study, we explored the impact of the program on student self-perceptions.

We administered a retrospective, pre-post survey at the end of year to students (n=253), in which 111 (44%) rated perceived importance of each attitude/skill at the start and end of the year. The survey also allowed open-ended comments. Analyzing the mean gain in ratings across the 2 time periods, 14 of the 15 items increased (range =.01 to .37), with a significant (p<0.05) increase on 4 items (applying identity development to career, having a self-reflection process, creating a networking plan, and identifying an issue in healthcare to change). Comments corroborated the notable impact of being a student in the program on said attitudes/skills.