Towards appropriate care in old-age medicine: exploring the professional identity of medical students and doctors in relation to older persons

The community of practice of medical care is guided by the social contract with society in which doctors serve the needs of their patients. Given that health problems in older age differ from those of younger patients the growing population of older persons leads to a change in society’s healthcare expectations and needs regarding the doctor. Therefore medical school and curriculum committees have the responsibility to create medical education that prepares medical students for older persons’ health care.<br>Becoming a doctor is an interplay of building competencies and the development of a professional identity. To prepare medical students for older persons’ health care geriatric competencies have been defined. As the development of a professional identity is considered a fundamental attribute for becoming a doctor, an appropriate professional identity will help medical students to become a doctor capable of providing the health care that older people need.<br>The objective of this thesis is to gain insight in the professional identity formation of medical students in relation to older persons’ health care and describes the essential elements of the professional identity and its formation that enables future doctors to give older persons the health care they need. <br>