Accepted Type
Oral
Code
OA3-1-3
Acceptance Declaration
Accept
Additional Information
I declare I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this program.
Was this work accepted for CCME 2020?
no
Category
General Call (Workshop, Oral Presentation, Poster Presentation)
Type
Oral
Sub Type
Education Research
Will the presenter be a:
Resident
Affiliation
Considered for Poster
yes
Title
Practicing confidence: An autoethnographic exploration of the first year as a physician
Length of Presentation
Background/Purpose
Across Canada, July 1st is heralded with the arrival of a cohort of newly-minted medical graduates. Through intense residency training and supervision, these learners gradually develop self-assurance in their newfound skills and ways of practice. What remains unknown, however, is how this confidence develops. The following project seeks to provide an insider view of this evolution from the frontline experiences of resident doctors.
Methods
Using an analytic auto-ethnographic approach, two resident physicians (internal medicine, pediatrics) documented 43 real-time stories on their emerging sense of confidence over their first year of residency. A narrative analysis was conducted iteratively in partnership with a staff physician and a medical education researcher, allowing for robust multi-perspective input. Reflections were analyzed and coded thematically; the various perspectives on data interpretation were negotiated by consensus discussion.
Results
Our analysis focused on the evolution of confidence, which starts with initial experiences of apprehension and the notion of 'faking it.' With time, the act of confidence materializes through two processes: (1) routinization and normalization; and (2) coming to understand our place within a layered healthcare system. Importantly, the development of confidence does not follow a linear trajectory; rather, the trainee finds themselves oscillating between states of imposterism, frustration, self-defeat, and self-assurance.
Conclusion
Exploring the nature of confidence - a seldom discussed but critically valued piece of one's emerging physician identity - offers unique insights on residency training, and provides key perspectives on the ways in which residents' growth and learning can be best supported.
Keyword 1
Confidence
Keyword 2
Residency
Keyword 3
Autoethnography
Level of Training
Post Graduate
Abstract Themes
Postgraduate
Additional Theme (First choice)
Physician & Medical Student Health and Well-being
Additional Theme (Second Choice)
Additional Theme (Third Choice)
Authors
Presenter
Andrew Perrella
Alon Coret
Term 1
Yes
Term 2
Yes
Term 3
Yes
Term 4
Yes
Term 5
Yes
