Organizing Chaos: Iterative Professional Identity Formation Through the Lens of Mask Making.

INTRODUCTION: Professional identity formation (PIF) is a sociocultural process through which medical students adopt the professional role of physician. This process is often unscripted and influenced by informal curricular elements. PIF is as important as the acquisition of knowledge and clinical skill in the continuum of medical education. METHODS: Using the ancient art of mask making, we created a process of reflective expression to explicitly examine and formally promote PIF. Students created individual masks to express elements of self in the context of their medical education experiences. Coupled with a narrative reflection describing the mask and the process of mask making, students were challenged to examine and give shape to their evolving sense of professional identity. Using a retrospective pre/post design, we used the mask-making process to examine identity across 4 years of medical school in a cohort of graduating students. RESULTS: The masks and accompanying narratives showed themes of moving from anxiety and uncertainty at matriculation to a more calm and focused state at the time of graduation. Other themes included the ability to organize complex material and the accumulation of a broad fund of knowledge. Students found the mask-making experience to be introspective and enjoyable. DISCUSSION: Mask making is both a product (mask) and process (creation). As such, mask making is an innovative strategy to examine PIF within individuals and across time. Organization, focus, and self-understanding were common themes of professional growth.

Unmasking Identity: Observations From a Cohort of Entering Medical Students.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Professional identity formation (PIF) is increasingly recognized as a core element of medical education. The use of narrative reflection is traditionally the most common means to explore PIF. We explored the use of mask-making as a process of reflective expression to encourage iterative exploration of professional identity in medical students. This project focused on elements of personal and professional identity in a cohort of entering students. METHODS: One hundred fifty entering students at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine created a mask to use descriptive words to express their perceptions of an ideal physician (external face of the mask) and their sense of self (internal face of the mask). Responses were compared to established domains of professional identity. RESULTS: Students most commonly listed elements in the domain of personal characteristics to describe both their sense of self and of an ideal physician. Students were more likely to list emotional elements when describing self and more likely to use elements in the domains of relationships, attitudes, and duties/responsibilities when describing an ideal physician. CONCLUSIONS: The beginning of medical school is a time of significant transition. Mask making can blend visual and narrative arts to provide a complementary tool to examine professional identity formation.