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The Assets Students Bring to the Medical Field: Beyond Test Scores and GPAs
Tasha R. Wyatt, PhD & Cole Phillips, M4 StudentEducational Innovation Institute (EII), Medical College of Georgia
Exploratory Study of Students’ Cultural Assets
Skills
Experiences
Perspectives
Cultural Knowledge
Orientations
AbilitiesFunds of Knowledge
(González, Moll & Amanti, 2006)
Methods - Participants
• Participants:
• Total of 22 M1-M3 students at MCG
• 5 - M1s
• 10 - M2s
• 7 - M3s
• Participants:
• Culturally and ethnically diverse sample
• 11 = UiM Students
• 7 = Caucasian Students
• 4 = Ethnic Minority Students
Snowball Method
Participants
Ethnicity Designation* Year in School
Latino UiM 1st
Caucasian 1st
Nigerian-American UiM 1st
African-American/ Caucasian UiM 1st
Caucasian 1st
Nigerian-American UiM 2nd
Nigerian-American UiM 2nd
Caucasian 2nd
Latino UiM 2nd
Indian 2nd
Caucasian/Puerto Rican UiM 2nd
Caucasian 2nd
Indian 2nd
Indian 2nd
Korean 2nd
Latino UiM 3rd
Caucasian 3rd
Nigerian-American UiM 3rd
Caucasian 3rd
Native American UiM 3rd
African-American UiM 3rd
Syrian UiM 3rd
* Under-represented in medicine (UiM) are racial
and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in
the medical profession relative to their numbers in
the general population.
11 = UiM* Students
7 = Caucasian Students
4 = Ethnic Minority Students
_____________________
22 Participants TOTAL
Sample Interview Questions
Skills
Experiences
Perspectives
Cultural Knowledge
Orientations
Abilities
Tell me about your childhood.
Describe yourself, family and origin.
What is unique about you?
How have you used your home,
school, community experiences in
medical school?
How do you anticipate using these
experiences when you become a
physician?
What challenges do you anticipate
experiencing as a physician, given
your experiences?
Professional Identity Formation
Standardization Diversity
TENSION*
* Frost H, Regehr G. I AM a doctor: Negotiating the discourses of standardization and diversity in professional identity construction. Academic Medicine. 2013;88(10):1-8.
Dominant Narrative of Professional Identity Development
Science/Medicine in the Home
Personal
Interest
Family
Member’s
Occupation
Dominant Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
Strong Role Models
Black
Doctors
Latino
Doctors
Empathetic
Doctors
Doctors
Dedicated
to the
Underserved
Smart
Doctors
Dedicated
Doctors
Dominant Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
Religion & Spirituality
“Becoming a physician is my purpose. My only
mission is to walk in that purpose and just follow
the Lord and make sure his kingdom is coming
through my practice. That is really it.”
Dominant Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
Personal Struggle
Empathy Compassion
Seeing
Different
Perspectives
Sense of
Discipline/
Hard Work
Personal/Family Illness Issues with Immigration
Cultural
Knowledge
Dominant Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
Trying to stay human, while being trained to become a robot
Palimpsest
• A manuscript or piece of writing material on
which the original writing has been effaced to
make room for later writing.
• Something reused or altered but still bearing
visible traces of its earlier form.
Underlying Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
Strong Sense of Identity
Underlying Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
“I feel like I am always having to prove
myself [because of] my background or
the color of my skin. . . . I feel like this
is the one thing that I will struggle with
as I continue on this journey to
medicine. Everyone has to earn
respect, but I really have to climb my
way because everyone is going to
look at me and be like ‘Oh, she is
another black girl. Let’s see if she is
going to make it.’”
Managing Stereotypes
Underlying Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
“Being a minority, I am always thinking about being undermined, or being challenged as not being capable, not being as educated, not being as driven. Those are things that are constantly on my mind. Even when I am walking through the hospital, I am conscious of the way people are looking like me. Are they going to think that I am just somebody [random]? Do they think that my child is up there [in a hospital room]? . . . I don’t want to give others any room to think less of me. It is something that is constantly in the back of my mind. I always think about the way people perceive me.”
Mitigating Others’ Perceptions
Underlying Narrative of Professional Identity Formation
“It is always in the back of your head.
We hear it all the time. One person
might say it, or someone in your class,
who is nice to you, secretly thinks it, or
openly thinks it: ‘You only got here
because of the color of your skin or
affirmative action.’ . . . When you are not
doing so well, you start to believe
them.’”
Perseveration and Self-Doubt
Non-UiM Students UiM Students
Interest in
Science
Role Models
Religion &
Spirituality
Personal
Struggle
Prejudice/
Discrimination
Highly aware of
racial issues
Monitoring of
Other People’s
Perceptions
Dominant Narrative in
Professional Identity
Formation
Feeling they don’t
belong
UiM students experience racism, discrimination, and prejudice in medical
school…issues theyhave experienced their whole lives.
Presently, we are NOT looking at these issues and their effect on
professional identity formation.
My Conclusion…
What are the consequences?
…if we don’t support UiM students throughout medical school?
…if we don’t understand and address issues of professional identity formation
in UiM students?
…if we don’t help ALL students maintain their assets throughout medical school?
Professional Identity Formation
Standardization Diversity
TENSION*
* Frost H, Regehr G. I AM a doctor: Negotiating the discourses of standardization and diversity in professional identity construction. Academic Medicine. 2013;88(10):1-8.
Ethnically Diverse
Workforce
Cultural Asset Maintenance
Targeted Research on UiM
experiences
Expand Discussions on
Professional Identity
