LAUSR

Professional socialization and the development of reflective capacity are critical elements that shape a medical trainee’s professional identity. A 2010 Carnegie Foundation Report argues that professional identity formation should be an important focus of medical educators and that identity transformation remains the highest purpose of medical education [1]. Education achieves this highest purpose when a person develops new ways of thinking and relating with peers [2]. Ultimately, the professional ideal is to develop physicians who can bring their “whole person to provide whole person care” [3]. An ideal professional identity embraces empathy, mindful attention to patient care, integrity, self-awareness, teamwork, beneficence, respect, and equal regard for all, as well as an eagerness to learn, resilience, and attention to self-care. Professional identity formation has antecedents in the student’s life prior to matriculation into medical school, but it is a lifelong endeavor, achieved through critical reflection and exposures to role models who “pass the torch” from generation to generation. Professional identity formation is measured externally by reputation for excellence among peers and patients. In this paper, we discuss how at Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University we have integrated evidence-based approaches to enhance professional identity formation among our trainees and faculty. In a time of increasing burnout among physicians and trainees, we believe purposeful integration of such approaches into an institution’s learning processes may enhance resilience and a sense of belonging and wellbeing within a community of practice [4–7]. Definitions of Professional Identity Formation