Multiple influences contribute to medical students' well‐being and identity formation

Mavor et al. in this issue of Medical Education, describe a working model elucidating how medical students become either stressed or strengthened during the demanding years that lead them towards fulfilling the longed-for goal of becoming a doctor. The model focuses on the inner circle of the medical student’s life. He or she is depicted as being on a continuum of self-complexity, in the midst of forming a medical student identity, while being exposed to medical school social norms. One strength of the model is that it allows for both the rise and fall of the student’s well-being. If the student maintains high self-complexity, feels connected to fellow medical students and adheres to healthy norms (e.g. by taking regular exercise), he or she will become resilient as a result. However, a medical student who narrows his or her life to meeting the demands of coursework, and finds little time or energy to engage in other roles, will be at risk, especially if he or she feels disconnected from other medical students and engages in unhealthy behaviours (e.g. binge drinking). If the student maintains high selfcomplexity and adheres to healthy norms, he or she will become resilient