Goal-Oriented and Habit-Oriented Reflective Models to Support Professional Identity Formation and Metacognitive Thinking

Professional identity formation (PIF) is a multi-year, complex, social, and intellectual process that culminates in trainees “thinking, acting, and feeling like a doctor.” Some of the processes of PIF, particularly the Hidden Curriculum, may result in suboptimal outcomes in student’s cognition, including implicit bias and poor clinical decision-making. Many have recognized the importance of reflective writing, particularly metacognition, in undergraduate medical education. However, there are few concrete examples and explanations for fully integrating reflective writing exercises across multiple situations, experiences, and levels of growth. The authors provide conceptual frameworks, concrete curricular structures, and reflective tools used at two medical schools.