A qualitative exploration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on personal and professional identity formation in early-stage medical students

Introduction: Professionalism and professional identity formation (PIF) require a range of experiences and opportunities to develop: active in-person learning, role-modelling and authentic clinical experience. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted these. This study explores the pandemic’s effect on identity formation for early-stage medical students after a disrupted initial year. Existing literature provides some empirical data; our focus was on students who were not yet on clinical placement and on student-derived solutions. Our aim was to identify deficits, experiences that supported development of PIF and how to address disruption. Methods: Medical student experiences were explored through in-person focus groups, using hermeneutic phenomenology and identity formation as the frameworks. Data were transcribed and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Findings intersected well with personal and professional identity formation theories. Students identified that losses of connection, limitations on experiential learning and isolation affected growth. Slippage between stages of personal identity formation was demonstrated in levels of uncertainty, discussions of resilience and expectation and personal wellbeing. Conclusions: Rapid system change maintained some meaningful academic and social interaction, including authentic virtual role modelling. Students identified communication and support as key factors during disruption. Normalising experience and expectations had potential to reduce anxiety and uncertainty. These findings are likely to be true for future disruptions. Careful and deliberate nurturing of affected cohorts is needed to allow catch-up of lost opportunities, along with proactive monitoring and support for graduates and ongoing study. These students are completing programs or have entered practice and may have delays or variations in developing their identity values.