Physician, Know Thyself: Reflecting on Identity and Medical Practice C. Chow, G.A. Case, University of Utah Abstract Body: Context: As our nation’s population continues to diversify, it is important to prepare physicians to work with patients from different backgrounds. While medical education trains students to become physicians, there is less emphasis on creating self-awareness around how personal experiences inform professional practice. We developed a workshop session that provides clinicians with the opportunity to explore their social and professional identities and reflect on how their identities might influence the delivery of culturally responsive and inclusive patient care. We have presented this session to four different samples: (1) to first-year medical students during their orientation training, (2) to fourth-year medical students in an elective course, (3) to residents and fellows during a didactic session, and (4) to faculty attending a health science educators symposium. Objectives: Describe aspects of identities that matter in personal lives and professional careers Analyze how these identities are socially constructed, particularly with respect to the identities of patients Develop strategies for bridging identity differences with patients Key Message: We conducted pre- and post-surveys at the beginning and end of our workshops in order to assess our first objective: how participants perceive the intersection of personal and professional identities. We adapted an existing scale to ask participants questions about identity and belonging, and how personal identities inform professional identities. We used a two-sample t-test to assess whether there were any significant changes on these measures between the surveys. In addition, we asked an open-ended question: Thinking back over today’s session, was there any particular concept that resonated with you? Did you have an “ah-ha” moment? If so, what was it about?” Our quantitative analysis reveals that participants were more likely to agree that their social groups reflect who they are after participating in the workshop. Additionally, they were more likely to agree that their social identities are connected to their decisions to pursue medicine after completing the workshop. The open-ended question was coded for themes. 18% of respondents did not respond to this question, or said “no”. The remaining 82% of participants’ responses fall into four themes: (1) awareness of social identity; (2) awareness of professional identity; (3) recognition of professional relationships; and (4) acknowledgement of privilege and difference. Conclusion: This workshop is useful in promoting thought and reflection around social identities, professional identities, the intersection of social and professional identities, and concepts of privilege and difference. Extending this effort is a worthwhile curricular endeavor.
