Medical Studentsʼ Professionalism Narratives: A Window on the Informal and Hidden Curriculum
- 1 January 2010
- journal article
- Published by Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) in Academic Medicine
- Vol. 85 (1), 124-133
- https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0b013e3181c42896
Abstract
Purpose The aim of this study was to use medical students' critical incident narratives to deepen understanding of the informal and hidden curricula. Method The authors conducted a thematic analysis of 272 stories of events recorded by 135 third-year medical students that “taught them something about professionalism and professional values.” Students wrote these narratives in a “professionalism journal” during their internal medicine clerkships at Indiana University School of Medicine, June through November 2007. Results The majority of students' recorded experiences involved witnessing positive embodiment of professional values, rather than breaches. Attending physicians and residents were the central figures in the incidents. Analyses revealed two main thematic categories. The first focused on medical–clinical interactions, especially on persons who were role models interacting with patients, families, coworkers, and colleagues. The second focused on events in the teaching-and-learning environment, particularly on students' experiences as learners in the clinical setting. Conclusions The findings strongly suggest that students' reflective narratives are a rich source of information about the elements of both the informal and hidden curricula, in which medical students learn to become physicians. Experiences with both positive and negative behaviors shaped the students' perceptions of the profession and its values. In particular, interactions that manifest respect and other qualities of good communication with patients, families, and colleagues taught powerfully.Keywords
This publication has 15 references indexed in Scilit:
- Critical Events in the Lives of InternsJournal of General Internal Medicine, 2008
- The role of relationships in the professional formation of physicians: Case report and illustration of an elicitation techniquePatient Education and Counseling, 2008
- Between Two Worlds: A Multi-Institutional Qualitative Analysis of Students’ Reflections on Joining the Medical ProfessionJournal of General Internal Medicine, 2008
- Enhancing the Informal Curriculum of a Medical School: A Case Study in Organizational Culture ChangeJournal of General Internal Medicine, 2008
- Is There Hardening of the Heart During Medical School?Academic Medicine, 2008
- Overcoming Institutional Challenges through Continuous Professionalism Improvement: The University of Washington ExperienceAcademic Medicine, 2007
- Third-Year Medical Students’ Participation in and Perceptions of Unprofessional BehaviorsAcademic Medicine, 2007
- Beyond curriculum reformAcademic Medicine, 1998
- Are there basic emotions?Psychological Review, 1992
- Managing Emotions in Medical School: Students' Contacts with the Living and the DeadSocial Psychology Quarterly, 1989