Exploring Community Preceptors’ Professional Identity Formation as Medical Educators: A Qualitative Study

Purpose A sense of professional identity as a medical educator nurtures self-efficacy, commitment, job satisfaction, and motivation to engage deliberately in teaching which are essential in becoming an effective teacher. Engagement in communities of medical educators may foster the formation of a teacher identity. For community preceptors who practice in settings away from the medical school the formation of professional identity as educators is less understood. This study aimed to explore the formation of community preceptors’ sense of self-identity as medical educators. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with community preceptors from two medical schools from May to July 2022. Transcripts were analyzed using open coding. Cruess et al. Professional Identity Formation framework was used to organize codes into categories and themes. Results Eleven community preceptors practicing in rural settings were interviewed. Participants reported feeling isolated, and lacking contemporary role models. They identified teaching faculty during their medical school and residency training as role models. Opportunities to socialize with other medical educators and engage in faculty development were limited. Clinical demands, time constraints, and practice location hindered their engagement and sense of belonging in the community of medical educators. Their self-confidence as educators was founded on their self-assessed competency as clinicians. They perceived clinical competency as most important in their ability to teach. They acknowledged the value of teaching in their professional growth and patient care. Conclusions Community preceptors had limited opportunities for socialization with other medical educators, faculty development, and engagement with the medical school. They attributed their self-confidence as medical educators to their self-assessed clinical competency. Teaching was valuable to their professional growth and patient care. More research is needed to better understand the factors influencing the formation of an educator identity in community preceptors to develop strategies for their successful integration into the community of medical educators.