‘Overcoming and owning challenges’: A qualitative study exploring the manifestation of agency in learners

AL in medical education helps learners shift from pretending to becoming their future professional selves. By crafting sufficient and facilitated challenges, learners are allowed to 'hold the tension' between creatively resolving challenges and upholding their professional credibility. This process is shaped by participation in a social group and can be influenced by the transformation of activities within this group. Embodying changes provides a deep-seated message that learners can carry to their future.