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Embracing the tension between vulnerability and credibility: ‘intellectual candour’ in health professions education
Author(s) -
Molloy Elizabeth,
Bearman Margaret
Publication year - 2019
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/medu.13649
Subject(s) - credibility , transformative learning , vulnerability (computing) , engineering ethics , blame , psychology , perspective (graphical) , sociology , public relations , social psychology , epistemology , pedagogy , political science , computer science , engineering , law , computer security , philosophy , artificial intelligence
The tension between expressing vulnerability and seeking credibility creates challenges for learning and teaching. This is particularly true in health care, in which practitioners are regarded as highly credible and making errors can often lead to dire consequences and blame. From a transformative learning perspective, expressing vulnerability may help individuals to access different ways of knowing. By contrast, from a sociological perspective, seeking to maintain credibility results in ritualised interactions and these ritualised encounters can reinforce credibility. One means of embracing this tension between expressing vulnerability and appearing credible is ‘intellectual candour’, an improvisational expression of doubts, thoughts and problems with the dual purpose of learning and promoting others’ learning. Educators’ revelations of inner struggles are proposed as a means of inviting reciprocal vulnerability. This builds trust and a platform for learning, particularly of the transformative nature. It also allows modelling of how to balance the vulnerability–credibility tension, which may provide a template for professional practice.