Professional and interprofessional group identities of final year medical and nursing students

Abstract

Background and purpose This small study explores group identification among healthcare students. Identifying with a professional group serves professional identity formation. Social Identity Theory however shows how social identification with a group can result in negative attitudes towards ‘out-groups’, possibly other health professions. Method 276 Final-year nursing and medical students received a questionnaire measuring strength of social identification (SSI) with their professional group and their interprofessional team, and querying their views on interprofessional feedback and who they viewed as team members. Results 38 Medical and 15 nursing students responded. Mean SSI differences were found favouring the professional group, statistically significant for the nursing students. Participants had a broad view of their interprofessional team and valued interprofessional feedback. Discussion and conclusions Despite the mean SSI differences, final year students’ broad perspective of team members and openness to interprofessional feedback suggest that group processes do not hinder the development of inclusive, interprofessional attitudes.