Aimed to gain insight into patients’ expectations regarding the professionalism of GPs, we first studied unsolicited patient complaints. It appeared that a substantial proportion of unsolicited... Show moreAimed to gain insight into patients’ expectations regarding the professionalism of GPs, we first studied unsolicited patient complaints. It appeared that a substantial proportion of unsolicited complaints concern professionalism issues. This dissertation provides insight into how patients experience unprofessional behaviour of physicians.Further, it provides educators with appropriate language to describe the unprofessional behaviour of residents, which matches that of the 4 I’s model. This language can contribute to the early identification of professionalism issues and the remediation of lapses in professionalism.This dissertation also provides insights into the PIF of GP residents from the perspectives of both supervisors and residents. According to residents, identity formation occurs primarily in the workplace as they move from doing the work of to becoming a GP and negotiate perceived norms. Residents feel that a tapestry of interrelated influencing factors – most prominently clinical experiences, clinical supervisors, and self-assessments – which changes over time, is felt to exert its influence predominantly in the workplace. Their supervisors have an image of the professional identity they are supporting and work toward that goal through role-modeling and mentoring. Supervisors believe that a bond of trust between supervisor and resident is a prerequisite to properly support residents’ PIF. Show less
Purpose Supporting the development of a professional identity is a primary objective in postgraduate education. Few empirical studies have explored professional identity formation (PIF) in... Show morePurpose Supporting the development of a professional identity is a primary objective in postgraduate education. Few empirical studies have explored professional identity formation (PIF) in residency, and little is known about supervisors' perceptions of their roles in residents' PIF. In this study, we sought to understand how supervisors perceive their roles in the PIF of General Practice (GP) residents. Materials and methods Guided by principles of qualitative description, we conducted eight focus groups with 55 supervisors at four General Practice training institutes across the Netherlands. Informed by a conceptual framework of PIF, we performed a thematic analysis of focus group transcripts. Results Three themes related to how GP supervisors described their roles in supporting residents' PIF: supervising with the desired goal of GP training in mind; role modeling and mentoring as key strategies to achieve that goal; and the value of developing bonds of trust to support the process. Conclusions To our knowledge, this study is the first to explore PIF in GP training from the perspective of clinical supervisors. The identified themes mirror the components of the therapeutic alliance between doctors and patients from a supervisor's perspective and highlight the pivotal roles of the supervisor in a resident's PIF. Show less
