Training and professional identity in medical graduates

Abstract

Introduction: Professional identity refers to the attributes that grant an individual with social recognition, distinguishing them from other professionals and allowing them to perform in a specific work context and become part of a group of professionals. Objective: To recognize the professional identity of physicians graduated from the Universidad de Antioquia. Materials and methods: Qualitative study with a focus on symbolic interactionism. 23 physicians graduated from the Universidad de Antioquia were interviewed and the data were analyzed based on grounded theory guidelines. Results: Professional identity is a process that begins with the selection of a professional career, and includes the experiences gained during the training process and the recognition by the graduates of the institution that trained them. Conclusion: Professional identity is built by interacting with other people in different environments and considering the possibility of thinking about ourselves. Medical graduates of the Universidad de Antioquia acknowledge that the socio-economic and cultural diversity that prevails in the institution contributes to developing their capacity to listen, respect free speech, be in a horizontal relationship with others, feel like “warriors” and acquire the capacities to practice medicine.