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Medical students’ perceptions of identity in communication skills training: a qualitative study
Author(s) -
Vågan André
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
medical education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.776
H-Index - 138
eISSN - 1365-2923
pISSN - 0308-0110
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2008.03278.x
Subject(s) - competence (human resources) , medical education , perception , focus group , identity (music) , qualitative research , communication skills , psychology , pedagogy , medicine , social psychology , sociology , social science , physics , neuroscience , anthropology , acoustics
Objectives Communication skills training in undergraduate medical education is considered to play an important role in medical students’ formation of their professional identity. This qualitative study explores Year 1 students’ perceptions of their identities when practising communication skills with real patients. Methods A total of 23 individual semi‐structured interviews and two focus group discussions were conducted with 10 students during their first year of communication skills training. All interviews and discussions were audio‐recorded, transcribed and analysed for emergent themes relating to identity. Results Students struggled to communicate professionally with patients because of a lack of clinical knowledge and skills. Consequently, students enacted other identities, yet patients perceived them differently, causing conversational ambiguities. Discussion Students’ perceptions challenge educational goals, suggesting that there is limited potential for the formation of professional identity through early training. Teacher‐doctors must acknowledge how students’ low levels of clinical competence and patients’ behaviour complicate students’ identity formation.