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SELF IDENTITY PRESENTATION
To examine the concept of ‘self identity’ we have chosen to take ourselves as a case study by exploring how our self identities are currently in a state of great flux – changing from who we were this time last year, into becoming a student, and onto becoming a qualified healthcare professional.
SELF – IDENTITY ( I & me ) WHERE WE ARE NOW? Material self Social self Spiritual self PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY Time Insight into practices Developing skills Values = ‘a state of mind,’ = a pre-requisite for taking up professional responsibilities VARIOUS PROFESSIONAL GROUPS Context?
Research article: Investigating the factors influencing professional identity of first-year health and social care students • Level of professional identity when students commence their professional studies • The differences in the level of professional identity between students from a range of professions • Factors which may affect the initial levels of professional identification
A scale to measure professional identity was completed by 1254 Health and Social Care students
Some of the main findings were: • Strength of professional identification varies by profession – the strongest being physiotherapy students and the weakest being social work students • Professional identity is also higher in students with a greater cognitive flexibility • High levels of professional identity were found in those with: • Previous work experience in health care environments • Better understanding of team working • Greater knowledge of own profession
CASE STUDY : Hilary Short • Hilary is a first year Podiatry student at Southampton University • She has two children who have left home to go to University themselves and one who is still at home • She works one day a week as a self-employed reflexologist • Hilary sometimes finds it hard to manage these different roles • She is in the process of trying to think of herself as a ‘professional’ – as a ‘Podiatrist’ STUDENT? PROFESSIONAL?
Student Professional Podiatrist Mother Reflexologist
Life Narratives – Stories we tell about ourselves to ourselves & other people (Gergen, 1983)
Life Narratives, create a link between : Who we feel we are going to be Who we are now Who we were
Life Threads Model ( Ellis-Hill et al, 2008) Narrative thread of ‘student’ will break at end of course – but must be replaced with narrative thread of ‘professional’
Creating Continuity : the ability to see the self as ‘professional’ may be influenced by others’ perception of that profession Example: Morning – justifying/explaining role of Podiatrist to someone who did not know what a Podiatrist was Afternoon – congratulated / praised for entering a profession which had made a big difference in this person’s life