An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology Study
Professional identities may influence a wide range of attitudes, ethical standards, professional commitments and patient safety. This study aimed to explore the important elements that comprise pediatricians’ professional identities. A Q-methodology was used to identify the similarities and differen...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Healthcare |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/2/144 |
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| author | Mao-Meng Tiao Yu-Che Chang Liang-Shiou Ou Chi-Fa Hung Madalitso Khwepeya |
| author_facet | Mao-Meng Tiao Yu-Che Chang Liang-Shiou Ou Chi-Fa Hung Madalitso Khwepeya |
| author_sort | Mao-Meng Tiao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Professional identities may influence a wide range of attitudes, ethical standards, professional commitments and patient safety. This study aimed to explore the important elements that comprise pediatricians’ professional identities. A Q-methodology was used to identify the similarities and differences in professional identity. Forty pediatricians were recruited from two tertiary referral hospitals in Taiwan. A list of statements was developed by five attending physicians and three residents. R software was used to analyze the Q-sorts to load the viewpoints and formulate the viewpoint arrays. Additional qualitative data—one-to-one personal interviews—were analyzed. Twenty-eight of forty pediatricians, 11 males and 17 females, with an average age of 39.9 (27–62) years, were associated with four viewpoints. We labeled the four viewpoints identified for professional identity as (1) professional recognition, (2) patient communication, (3) empathy and (4) insight. The professional recognition viewpoint comprised of youngest participants—28–36 years—with the majority as residents (77.8%), while the empathy viewpoint comprised the oldest participants—38–62 years—with all as attending physicians. All participants in the empathy and insight viewpoints were married. This study found professional identity to be a multifaceted concept for pediatricians, especially in the areas of professional recognition, patient communication, empathy and insight into patient care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:52:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cad9f9d0c18040ffae9a7e47f2399e2c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9032 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:52:41Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Healthcare |
| spelling | doaj.art-cad9f9d0c18040ffae9a7e47f2399e2c2024-01-26T16:45:35ZengMDPI AGHealthcare2227-90322024-01-0112214410.3390/healthcare12020144An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology StudyMao-Meng Tiao0Yu-Che Chang1Liang-Shiou Ou2Chi-Fa Hung3Madalitso Khwepeya4Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 83301, TaiwanCollege of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanChang Gung Medical Education Research Centre, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanDepartment of Psychology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 83301, TaiwanChang Gung Medical Education Research Centre, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanProfessional identities may influence a wide range of attitudes, ethical standards, professional commitments and patient safety. This study aimed to explore the important elements that comprise pediatricians’ professional identities. A Q-methodology was used to identify the similarities and differences in professional identity. Forty pediatricians were recruited from two tertiary referral hospitals in Taiwan. A list of statements was developed by five attending physicians and three residents. R software was used to analyze the Q-sorts to load the viewpoints and formulate the viewpoint arrays. Additional qualitative data—one-to-one personal interviews—were analyzed. Twenty-eight of forty pediatricians, 11 males and 17 females, with an average age of 39.9 (27–62) years, were associated with four viewpoints. We labeled the four viewpoints identified for professional identity as (1) professional recognition, (2) patient communication, (3) empathy and (4) insight. The professional recognition viewpoint comprised of youngest participants—28–36 years—with the majority as residents (77.8%), while the empathy viewpoint comprised the oldest participants—38–62 years—with all as attending physicians. All participants in the empathy and insight viewpoints were married. This study found professional identity to be a multifaceted concept for pediatricians, especially in the areas of professional recognition, patient communication, empathy and insight into patient care.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/2/144pediatriciansprofessionalidentityQ-methodology |
| spellingShingle | Mao-Meng Tiao Yu-Che Chang Liang-Shiou Ou Chi-Fa Hung Madalitso Khwepeya An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology Study Healthcare pediatricians professional identity Q-methodology |
| title | An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology Study |
| title_full | An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology Study |
| title_fullStr | An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology Study |
| title_short | An Exploration of Pediatricians’ Professional Identities: A Q-Methodology Study |
| title_sort | exploration of pediatricians professional identities a q methodology study |
| topic | pediatricians professional identity Q-methodology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/2/144 |
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