Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative study

Objectives Globalisation has given medical university students the opportunity to pursue international electives in other countries, enhancing the long-term socialisation of medical professionals. This study identified the long-term effects of international electives on the professional identity for...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masato Eto, Keiko Nanishi, Mikio Hayashi, Daisuke Son
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2020-08-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/8/e039944.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846145674985340928
author Masato Eto
Keiko Nanishi
Mikio Hayashi
Daisuke Son
author_facet Masato Eto
Keiko Nanishi
Mikio Hayashi
Daisuke Son
author_sort Masato Eto
collection DOAJ
description Objectives Globalisation has given medical university students the opportunity to pursue international electives in other countries, enhancing the long-term socialisation of medical professionals. This study identified the long-term effects of international electives on the professional identity formation of medical students.Design This is a qualitative study.Setting The authors interviewed Japanese medical professionals who had completed their international electives more than 10 years ago, and analysed and interpreted the data using a social constructivism paradigm.Participants A total of 23 medical professionals (mean age 36.4 years; range 33–42 years) participated in face-to-face, semistructured in-depth interviews.Results During the data analysis, 36 themes related to professional identity formation were identified, and the resulting themes had five primary factors (perspective transformation, career design, self-development, diversity of values and leadership). It was concluded that international electives for medical students could promote reflective self-relativisation and contribute to medical professional identity formation. Additionally, such electives can encourage pursuing a specialisation and academic or non-academic work abroad. International electives for medical students could contribute to medical professional identity formation on the basis of cross-cultural understanding.Conclusions This study addressed a number of issues regarding the long-term impact of international elective experiences in various countries on the professional identity formation of Japanese medical professionals. This study offers some guidance to mentors conducting international electives and provides useful information for professional identity formation development in medical professionals.
format Article
id doaj-art-6474dc78b1ad4465853bcdd5f6426a4b
institution Kabale University
issn 2044-6055
language English
publishDate 2020-08-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open
spelling doaj-art-6474dc78b1ad4465853bcdd5f6426a4b2024-12-02T05:30:13ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552020-08-0110810.1136/bmjopen-2020-039944Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative studyMasato Eto0Keiko Nanishi1Mikio Hayashi2Daisuke Son31 Department of Medical Education Studies, International Research Center for Medical Education, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanOffice of International Academic Affairs, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan1 Department of Medical Education Studies, International Research Center for Medical Education, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan1 Department of Medical Education Studies, International Research Center for Medical Education, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanObjectives Globalisation has given medical university students the opportunity to pursue international electives in other countries, enhancing the long-term socialisation of medical professionals. This study identified the long-term effects of international electives on the professional identity formation of medical students.Design This is a qualitative study.Setting The authors interviewed Japanese medical professionals who had completed their international electives more than 10 years ago, and analysed and interpreted the data using a social constructivism paradigm.Participants A total of 23 medical professionals (mean age 36.4 years; range 33–42 years) participated in face-to-face, semistructured in-depth interviews.Results During the data analysis, 36 themes related to professional identity formation were identified, and the resulting themes had five primary factors (perspective transformation, career design, self-development, diversity of values and leadership). It was concluded that international electives for medical students could promote reflective self-relativisation and contribute to medical professional identity formation. Additionally, such electives can encourage pursuing a specialisation and academic or non-academic work abroad. International electives for medical students could contribute to medical professional identity formation on the basis of cross-cultural understanding.Conclusions This study addressed a number of issues regarding the long-term impact of international elective experiences in various countries on the professional identity formation of Japanese medical professionals. This study offers some guidance to mentors conducting international electives and provides useful information for professional identity formation development in medical professionals.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/8/e039944.full
spellingShingle Masato Eto
Keiko Nanishi
Mikio Hayashi
Daisuke Son
Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative study
BMJ Open
title Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative study
title_full Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative study
title_fullStr Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative study
title_short Long-term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation: a qualitative study
title_sort long term contribution of international electives for medical students to professional identity formation a qualitative study
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/8/e039944.full
work_keys_str_mv AT masatoeto longtermcontributionofinternationalelectivesformedicalstudentstoprofessionalidentityformationaqualitativestudy
AT keikonanishi longtermcontributionofinternationalelectivesformedicalstudentstoprofessionalidentityformationaqualitativestudy
AT mikiohayashi longtermcontributionofinternationalelectivesformedicalstudentstoprofessionalidentityformationaqualitativestudy
AT daisukeson longtermcontributionofinternationalelectivesformedicalstudentstoprofessionalidentityformationaqualitativestudy