About this Research Topic

Background

Professional identities refer to the way we define ourselves in relation to our work, including the values, beliefs, and practices that shape our sense of professional self. It is a complex and multifaceted concept with significant implications for both individuals and organizations. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the study of professional identities in the healthcare professions, and we believe this trend is likely to continue in the future.

Studying healthcare professional identities is important. It provides insight into how different healthcare professional individuals and groups view their work and the role it plays in their lives. This can help organizations better understand the motivations and aspirations of their employees, which can inform the development of effective retention and recruitment strategies. Thus, if an organization knows that its employees value work-life balance, it can design policies and practices that promote this value.

Understanding healthcare professional identities can help us as individuals to navigate our careers and make important decisions about our work. In this space, we can better assess whether a particular profession or career path aligns with our values and aspirations. This can facilitate informed choices about careers and avoid situations that are likely to cause stress or dissatisfaction.

The study of professional identities can also contribute to the development of more effective training and professional development programs. By understanding the values and beliefs underpinning a particular profession, educators can design training programs to better prepare individuals for the demands of their work. This can lead to better outcomes for both individuals and their organizations.

Finally, understanding professional identities can help organizations create a culture that supports the well-being and satisfaction of their employees. When employees feel that their values and beliefs are aligned with those of their organization, they are more likely to be engaged and committed with their work. This can lead to better performance and outcomes for the organization as a whole.

In addition to practical benefits, the study of professional identities also has theoretical implications: contributing to our understanding of how individuals construct and maintain their sense of self, both in relation to work and in other domains of life. This can help us better understand the complex interplay between individual and societal factors that shape identity formation.

Despite the importance of the study of professional identities, there are also challenges: the difficulty of measuring professional identities in a reliable and valid way (due to them being subjective and multifaceted), the difficulty of engaging with the vast quantity of research in this area and staying abreast of the latest theories and framework (often developed outside healthcare professions education research), and the dynamic nature of professional identities (meaning researchers need to engage closely with theory and draw on a range of research methodologies to capture the ways in which professional identities evolve and change).

This Research Topic solicits forward-looking contributions that describe the state of the art, outlining, recent developments and major accomplishments that have been achieved and that need to occur to move the field forward. Authors are encouraged to identify the greatest challenges in healthcare professions identities research, and how to address those challenges.

The goal of this special edition Research Topic is to shed light on the progress made in the past decade in the Healthcare Professions Education field and on its future challenges to provide a thorough overview of the status of the art of the professional identities research in the Healthcare Professions Education field. This article collection will inspire, inform, and provide direction and guidance to researchers in the field.

Keywords: Professional Identities, Healthcare Education, well-being, Healthcare Professions, professional self

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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