Role Modeling in Medical Education and its Influences on Professional Behaviours

Background: Role modeling plays a major role in shaping the identity of a medical graduate. Medical students adopt various characteristics of their teacher's role modelling. Objective: The objective of the study was to explore factors influencing medical teacher's own behavior as a professional due to role modeling of their teachers during their college life. Methods: This explanatory sequential mixed method design involved medical teachers of three prominent medical colleges of Punjab, Pakistan from January 2018 to November 2018.Seventy-five medical teachers filled a pre-designed questionnaire after informed consent followed by eighteen semi-structured face to face interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed via SPSS software and transcribed interviews were organized in Atlas ti software for data analysis. Results: Participants ranked individual's behaviour as topmost influencing factor for role modelling followed by professionalism, clinical competence and teaching skills during phase one. In phase two, one hundred and sixty-one open codes were generated out of the eighteen interviews analysis and were grouped in two themes: (1) positive role models and its influences and (2) negative role models and its influences. Effective teaching, clinically competent doctor and bete-personal qualities influencing attributes of positive role models whereas negative role models attributes included being an incompetent doctor, ineffective in teaching and having unpleasant personal qualities. Conclusion: Medical students can acquire both positive and negative attributes through role modelling of their teachers. Faculty must be encouraged to adapt to reflective practices in order to improve as role models.